PERSONAL 
RECOLLECTIONS 


JOHN  M.  PAVER 

First  Lieutenant  Company  C 
and  Regimental  Quartermaster 
Fifth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry 


WHAT      I       SAW 


FROM     1861    TO     1864 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  of 

JOHN    M.     £AVER 

ist    LIEUTENANT    COMPANY    C,    and 
R.    Q.   M.    5th   OHIO   VOL.    INFANTRY 


20TH  CORPS 


5TH   OHIO 

INFANTRY 

CINCINNATI 
1861-1898 


CONTENTS 


INTRODUCTION Page  11 

CHAPTER  I Page  13 

Political  Condition.  Election  of  Lincoln  and  Hamlin. 
Organization.  Three  Months  Organization.  Three 
Years. 

CHAPTER  II Page  21 

Departure  from  Camp  Dennison.  Arrival  at  Clarks 
burg.  Expedition  to  Oakland.  Encampment  at 
Parkersburg.  Expedition  to  Buckhannon.  French 
Creek.  Romney. 

CHAPTER  III Page  26 

Detail  for  Recruiting  Service.  Return  to  Regiment. 
"On  to  Richmond"  Pope  Campaign. 

CHAPTER  IV Page  31 

Battle  Cedar  Mountain.     Retrograde  Movement. 

CHAPTER   V Page  33 

Reconnoissance  to  Winchester.  Reconnoissance  to 
Charlestown.  Mud  March  to  Dumfries.  Skirmish 
with  Stuart's  Cavalry. 

CHAPTER  VI Page  40 

Return  to  Virginia.  Ocean  trip  to  New  York. 
Western  Trip. 

CHAPTER  VII Page  46 

Veteranization.  Leaving  Bridgeport.  Arriving  at 
Cincinnati.  Re- organization  at  Camp  Dennison. 
Return  to  the  Front.  New  Sutler. 


M229951 


CHAPTER  VIII Page  SO 

Forward  Movement  1864.  Change  in  Corps  Organi 
zation.  Battle  of  Mill  Creek,  Ga.  Battle  of  Resaca, 
Ga.  Capture  of  Four  Gun  Battery.  Death  of  Col. 
Patrick. 

CHAPTER  IX Page  54 

Final  Remarks.     Correspondence. 

FOX'S   REGIMENTAL   LOSS Page  56 

COPY    OF    CERTIFICATE Page  59 

TRANSCRIPT  FROM  WAR  DEPARTMENT Page  60 

ADDRESS     .    .    .' Page  63 

Reunion  Regiment,  1898. 

ADDRESS Page  71 

Encampment  Union  Veteran  Legion,  National  Mili 
tary  Home,  Dayton,  O.,  January,  1895 

ADDRESS Page  77 

Encampment  Union  Veteran  Legion,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 
October,  1895. 

ADDRESS Page  80 

George  H.  Thomas  Post  17,  Department  Indiana, 
G.  A.  R.,  1887. 

ADDRESS     . Page  88 

Encampment  Union  Veteran:  Legion,  1895,  Lafay 
ette,  Ind. 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  MUSTER  ROLL Page  96 

Written  for  the  Indianapolis  News  on  the  occasion  of 
the  Dedication  of  the  Indiana  Soldiers'  and  Sailors' 
Monument,  May  15,  1902. 


1904 


INTRODUCTION. 


Notwithstanding  the  years  that  have  passed,  my  experience  as 
a  Soldier  in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  retains  its  interest.  Taking 
into  consideration  that  my  memory  will  be  a  little  defective,  it 
will  not  be  my  purpose  to  write  of  any  incident  that  I  did  not 
personally  see  or  experience. 

I  do  not  claim  any  merit  as  a  writer,  nor  have  I  made  any 
study  in  that  direction.  To  state  the  movements  of  Armies  or 
Corps,  give  descriptions  of  battles,  submit  reports  of  losses,  etc., 
I  will  leave  to  writers  who  have  made  it  an  object  to  write  as  His 
torians.  My  services  were  diversified,  being,  for  the  greater  part, 
on  detached  or  special  duty. 

I  am  not  a  graduate  of  any  college,  although  my  parents  made 
an  effort  to  have  me  sent,  when  I  was  a  young  man,  to  an  Epis 
copal  College,  at  Gambier,  Ohio,  probably  thinking  that  I  would 
be  a  good  subject  for  the  Ministry.  This  failed  and  all  I  claim 
is  a  common  school  education.  I  was  born  in  Cincinnati,  O.,  on 
the  1 4th  day  of  July,  1839. 

My  father  was  an  Englishman ;  my  mother  was  of  German 
descent,  and  I  presume  I  inherited  my  military  spirit  from  my 
father,  who,  as  I  can  recollect  when  quite  a  small  boy,  was  a 
member  of  one  of  the  early  militia  companies  of  Cincinnati.  As 
a  relic  of  his  time  and  services  to  the  State,  I  have  in  my  posses 
sion  a  silk  officer's  sash,  and  which,  I  wore  during  my  service 
in  the  Union  Army. 

Previous  to  this  year,  1905,  I  have  been  constantly  and  actively 
engaged  in  the  "whirlpool"  of  busy  business  life,  and  now,  after 
many  years  of  activity,  I  have  retired  from  this  daily  commotion, 
and  transferred  my  business  to  my  two  sons,  both  energetic,  com 
petent,  capable  and  reliable  business  men,  so  that  my  retirement 
will  make  study  a  pleasant  pastime,  and  the  writing  of  my  Recol 
lections  agreeable. 


In  writing,  I  may  make  some  errors  in  dates,  but  the  statements 
as  an  eye  witness,  I  make  from  the  store  house  of  my  brain.  I 
shall  not  attempt  to  relate  any  individual  acts  of  bravery  or  hero 
ism.  When  hostilities  commenced,  I  was  a  clerk  in  the  freight 
department  of  the  C.,  H.  &  D.  R.  R.  Co.,  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  I 
have  no  knowledge  of  any  other  employe  enlisting  at  the  same 
time  I  did.  I  had  no  aim  for  rank,  or  military  glory,  a  desire 
only  to  be  a  part  of  the  great  Union  Army,  to  save  to  the  Country 
the  free  government  bequeathed  to  us  by  our  forefathers. 

To  write  one's  personal  observations  and  experiences  during  a 
period  now  far  in  the  past,  is  an  undertaking  which  may  fail  be 
fore  the  final  chapter  is  written.  To  think,  and  put  down  on 
paper  what  one  thinks,  in  an  intelligent  and  comprehensive  man 
ner,  is  no  small  task  after  so  many  years.  Forty-one  years  have 
passed  since  the  closing  scenes  of  the  conflict  between  the  North 
and  the  South,  which  were  prominent  in  the  minds  of  the  sur 
vivors  of  that  great  army  of  men,  clad  in  blue. 

The  sixty-seventh  mile  stone  of  my  life  has  nearly  been  reached, 
and  in  this  time,  much  has  been  seen  and  experienced.  A  sol 
dier's  life  during  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  was  one  of  trials,  joys 
and  sorrows.  To  preserve  the  memory  of  the  experiences 
through  which  I  passed  during  the  war,  and  to  furnish  my  pos 
terity  and  surviving  comrades  with  some  record  of  my  faithful 
ness  to  the  "Old  Flag,"  is  the  object  of  this  article.  The  sur 
vivors  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  never  tire  of  telling  stories  or 
hearing  them  told  when  they  come  from  actual  participants,  but 
a  recount  from  some  paper  or  "book  soldier,"  is  never  appre 
ciated. 

JOHN  M.  PAVER. 

INDIANAPOLIS,  April  2nd,  1906. 


1861 


CHAPTER  I. 


POLITICAL   CONDITION — ELECTION   OF  LINCOLN   AND   HAMLIN OR 
GANIZATION  THREE  MONTHS — ORGANIZATION  THREE  YEARS. 


The  political  conditions  of  the  Country  the  year  preceding  the 
commencement  of  the  war  (1860)  were  of  such  a  character  and 
in  such  an  unsettled  state  that  the  most  unsuspecting  youth  could 
not  but  exhibit  nervousness.  The  great  question  of  slavery  had 
rent  asunder  the  friendly  relations  that  had  existed  for  years  be 
tween  the  North  and  South.  Some  preparations  in  anticipation 
of  a  conflict  had  already  been  made  in  Washington  during  the 
year. 

In  February,  1861,  Abraham  Lincoln  and  Hannibal  Hamlin 
were,  by  the  Electoral  votes  cast,  declared  President  and  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States  for  four  years,  and  were  inaugu 
rated  March  4th,  1861.  Their  election  caused  the  secession  of 
many  of  the  southern  States  and  an  attempt  to  destroy  the  Union. 
Finding  that  nothing  but  a  resort  to  arms  would  satisfy  the  South, 
the  President  accepted  the  issue  and  made  his  first  call  for  sev 
enty-five  thousand  men  for  three  months  service.  This  call  was 
made  April  15,  1861.  Ohio's  quota  was  '10,153.  There  were 
furnished,  however,  12,357  men. 

Some  of  the  States  were  in  a  better  condition  from  a  military 
standpoint  than  Ohio.  The  military  contingent  was  very  defi 
cient.  Cincinnati  and  some  other  cities  had  a  few  company  or 
ganizations,  made  up  more  for  dazzling  beauty  and  parade  than 
actual  service.  To  one  of  these  the  writer  was  attached. 

The  Cincinnati  Rover  Guards,  a  very  old  organization,  had 
been  sworn  into  the  State  service  some  time  previous  to  my  be 
coming  a  member.  The  year  1861  was  one  of  activity  for  the 
"Rovers."  The  first  company  had  been  ordered  to  assemble  at 
Columbus,  Ohio,  to  join  other  companies  from  other  cities  in  the 


State  and  was  there  assigned  to  a  command  that  proceeded  to 
Washington  and  took  part  in  the  first  Battle  of  Bull  Run. 

The  second  Company  of  "Rovers"  of  which  I  was  the  First  Or 
derly  Sergeant,  and  afterwards  Second  Lieutenant,  was  ordered 
to  camp,  April  2oth,  1861,  mustered  in  May  8th,  for  three  months, 
and  with  other  companies,  assembled  at  the  Fair  Grounds  just 
outside  of  Cincinnati,  which  was  afterwards  known  as  Camp  Har 
rison.  Here  we  put  in  our  first  days  as  actual  soldiers  in  Uncle 
Sam's  service,  drilling  and  equipping  ourselves  for  more  arduous 
work.  The  general  opinion  among  the  boys  was  that  it  would 
only  be  a  "PICNIC"  on  a  large  scale,  at  Uncle  Sam's  expense. 

I  remember  those  recruiting  days  very  well.  The  first  com 
panies  were  made  up  of  picked  men ;  picked  because  they  showed 
most  enthusiasm.  The  inspiration  was  there.  The  sound  of  the 
fife  and  drum  stimulated  them  to  good  work  in  drilling  and 
marching.  At  Camp  Harrison,  we  were  assigned,  with  nine 
other  companies,  to  an  organization  which  was  afterwards  known 
as  the  5th  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  Regiment,  and  mustered  into 
the  three  months  service  on  May  8th,  1861. 

After  the  ten  companies  had  been  mustered  in,  there  came  the 
election  of  officers  to  command  the  regiment.  I  might  say  that 
before  the  election  of  regimental  officers  our  company  elected  the 
following : 

Captain   Henry  E.  Symmes 

First  Lieut Theo.  A.  Startsman 

Second  Lieut John  M.  Paver 

and  we  were  known  as  Company  "C." 

The  result  of  the  election  of  regimental  officers  was  as  follows : 

Colonel Samuel  H.   Dunning 

Lieut.  Col John  H.  Patrick 

Major Charles  L.  Long 

Surgeon Alfred  Ball 

Assistant  Surgeon Charles  Greenleaf 

Adjutant William   Gaskill 

R.  Q.  M Caleb  C.  Whitson 

Sergeant  Major Augustus  Moonert 

Q.  M.  S William  Tomlinson 

Hospital  Steward William  F.  Tibbals 

Principal   Musician Thomas   Davis 

We  remained  at  Camp  Harrison  until  May  23rd,  1861,  and  were 
then  ordered  to  Camp  Dennison,  a  new  camp,  located  on  the 

14 


Little  Miami  Railroad  (now  part  of  the  Pennsylvania  System) 
about  sixteen  miles  east  of  Cincinnati.  Here  we  remained,  con 
tinuing  our  drilling,  and  getting  better  equipped  for  active  field 
duty.  The  5th  Ohio  was  very  popular  with  the  citizens  of  Cin 
cinnati,  being  known  as  a  strictly  City  Regiment.  Our  march 
from  Camp  Harrison  to  Camp  Dennison  was  a  perfect  ovation. 
The  route  was  over  the  hills  and  through  Cliffton,  entering  the 
city  at  Sycamore  street,  descending  here,  making  an  imposing 
appearance  in  our  marching,  although  our  uniform  appearance 
was  not  so  creditable.  We  had  not,  up  to  this  time,  been  fur 
nished  with  our  "Blue  Clothing." 

Remembering  very  well  that  just  before  we  reached  the  top 
of  Sycamore  Street  hill  the  command  was  .given,  "Arms  at  will," 
at  which,  by  pre-arrangement,  each  soldier  was  to  place  his  mus 
ket  across  his  shoulders,  and  in  "open  order"  making  it  have  a 
"regular  and  unique"  appearance,  and  in  this  way,  we  marched 
jmany  squares  through  the  heart  of  the  city.  It  not  being  gen 
erally  known  over  what  route  or  at  what  time  the  regiment 
would  pass  through,  many  wives,  mothers,  sisters  and  fathers 
were  keenly  disappointed  by  not  seeing  us  on  our  march  to  the 
depot.  Nevertheless,  the  streets  were  crowded  and  many  were 
the  "Good  Byes"  and  "Farewells"  given  us. 

Before  our  three  months  of  "Picnic"  service  had  expired,  it  be 
came  very  evident  on  the  part  of  our  Government  that  soldiers 
for  a  longer  period  were  needed,  and  a  demand  was  made  upon 
us  that  we  should  enlist  for  three  years.  This  demand  was  the 
cause  of  considerable  dissatisfaction.  Some  officers  and  many  of 
the  enlisted  men  declining  to  re-enlist  and  much  difficulty  was 
experienced  in  getting  a  full  quota  to  enable  us  to  be  mustered  in 
for  three  years. 

This  reorganization  brought  about  many  changes  in  the  com 
panies,  as  well  as  the  Regimental  officers.  The  quota  was  finally 
completed,  and  the  regiment  was  mustered  into  the  three  years 
service  on  June  20,  1861.  The  new  organization  was  officered 
as  follows : 

Colonel Samuel  H.  Dunning 

Lieut.  Col John  H.  Patrick 

Major William  Gaskill 

Surgeon Alfred  Ball 

Assistant  Surgeon C.  J.  Bellows 

Chaplain  S.  L.  Yourtee 

15 


Colonel  Dunning  resigned  after  the  battle  of  Port  Republic,  the 
resignation  taking  effect  August  2,  1862. 

Lieut.  Colonel  Patrick,  promoted  to  Colonel  August  2,  1862, 
was  killed  at  Pumpkin  Vine  Creek,  Ga.,  May  25,  1864. 

Major  Gaskill  resigned  January  19,  1862. 

Surgeon  Ball,  mustered  out  June  20,  1864,  at  expiration  of  term 
of  service. 

Assistant  Surgeon  Bellows,  resigned  Sept.  10,  1862. 

Chaplain  Yourtee,  resigned  May  25,  1862. 

COMPANY  A. 

Captain  Jacob  A.  Remley 

First  Lieut Geo.  H.  Whitcamp 

Second  Lieut Robt.  H.  Barrett 

This  company  was  made  up  chiefly  of  young  men  from  the 
vicinity  of  Central  Avenue,  Liberty  and  Wade  Streets,  Cincin 
nati,  who  had  formed  a  military  company  previous  to  the  calling 
for  troops,  and  was  part  of  an  organization  known  as  The  "Con 
tinental  Battalion." 

The  Captain  resigned  April  30,  1864. 

First  Lieut,  resigned  April  26,  1862. 

Second  Lieut,  resigned  August  16,  1861. 

COMPANY  B. 

Captain   Robert  L.  Kilpatrick 

First  Lieut John  C.  McDonald 

Second  Lieut Hugh  Marshall 

The  officers  of  this  Company  were  originally  members  of  the 
"Cincinnati  Highland  Guards,"  an  organization  of  Scotchmen, 
who  had  some  experience  in  drilling.  The  enlisted  men  were  of 
a  miscellaneous  nationality  and  contained  some  very  tough  char 
acters,  who  gave  the  officers  much  trouble.  Captain  Kilpatrick, 
having  seen  service  in  the  British  Army,  was  a  very  severe  dis 
ciplinarian  and  handled  his  men  accordingly.  Had  he  been  other 
wise,  it  is  a  question  whether  he  would  have  been  successful.  One 
particular  man,  known  as  "Scotty"  was  hard  to  control,  and  a 
dangerous  man. 

The  Captain  was  promoted  to  Lieutenant  Colonel,  January  8, 
1863. 

First  Lieut,  was  promoted  to  Captain,  August  13,  1862. 

Second  Lieut,  was  promoted  to  First  Lieut.,  March  IT,  1862, 
and  appointed  Adjutant,  July  24,  1862. 

16 


COMPANY  C. 

Captain   Henry  E.  Symmes 

First  Lieut Theo.  A.  Startsman 

Second  Lieut John  M.  Paver 

The  officers  of  this  company  were  original  members  of  the  Cin 
cinnati  Rover  Guards,  which  had  among  its  membership  some  of 
the  very  best  young  men  in  the  city.  Regardless  of  our  extreme 
care  in  selecting  "recruits"  we  picked  up  one  or  two  bad  char 
acters,  from  which  kind  no  company  was  free.  Particular  men 
tion  of  this  calls  to  mind  one  Samuel  S.  Pierpont,  who  had  openly 
proclaimed  that  he  would  kill  the  officers  of  his  company  before 
the  war  was  over.  This  man  was  insubordinate  in  the  extreme, 
and  for  months  was  kept  in  prison.  The  opinion  prevailed  that 
he  was  mentally  unbalanced.  On  one  occasion  this  man  was  a 
part  of  the  detail  for  picket  duty,  and  it  fell  to  my  lot  to  be  the 
officer  for  that  outpost.  I  was  in  great  suspense  during  the 
whole  time  of  our  picket  duty.  I  had  been  cautioned  by  some  of 
my  company  to  be  on  the  alert.  Pierpont  was  severely  wounded 
at  Cedar  Mountain,  Virginia,  August  9th,  1862,  taken  to  the  hos- 
uital,  and  was  finally  discharged  February  27th,  1863.  Both 
Captain  Symmes  and  myself  felt  very  much  relieved  after  this  be 
came  known.  I  cannot  close  this  little  synopsis  without  refer 
ring  briefly  to  our  own  Captain. 

H.  E.  Symmes  was  an  extraordinary  man,  a  lineal  descendant 
of  President  Zachary  Taylor,  whose  term  of  office  as  President 
of  the  United  States  was  only  sixteen  months.  From  my  first 
acquaintance  with  him,  he  attracted  me  by  his  military  spirit,  and 
every  development  of  his  character  indicated  his  nobility.  He 
was  a  close  student  in  the  art  of  war,  born  to  command,  always 
showing  an  earnestness  of  purpose,  severely  temperate  and  of  un 
daunted  courage.  He  was  promoted  to  Major,  March  29th, 
1863,  and  died  July  9,  1864,  from  wounds  received  in  the  Battle 
of  Kennesaw  Mountain,  June  29th,  1864. 

First  Lieut,  promoted  to  Captain,  March  19,  1862. 

Second  Lieut,  promoted  to  First  Lieut.,  April  26,  1862,  and  ap 
pointed  R.  Q.  M.  June  23,  1863. 

COMPANY  D. 

Captain Robert  Hays 

First  Lieut Robert  Logan 

Second  Lieut Robert  Kirkup 

17 


The  officers  and  a  number  of  the  men  of  this  company  were 
known  as  the  original  Cincinnati  Highland  Guards,  a  company  of 
Scotchmen.  My  observations  of  this  company  were  that  it  was 
made  up  of  good  material  and  was  faithful  during  the  service. 

Lieut.  Robert  Kirkup  remained  constantly  with  the  company, 
receiving  merited  promotions  to  Captain,  and  Colonel.  He  was 
wounded  at  Cedar  Mountain,  recovered  and  returned  to  his  com 
mand. 

The  Captain  resigned  May  25,  1862. 

First  Lieut,  resigned  March  n,  1862. 

Second  Lieut,  was  promoted  to  First  Lieut.,  January  9,  1862 ; 
promoted  to  Captain,  August  2,  1862 ;  Lieut.  Colonel,  September 
26,  1864. 

COMPANY  E. 

Captain George  B.  Whitcomb 

First  Lieut Louis  C.  Robinson 

Second  Lieut William  N.  Dick 

This  company  was  a  part  of  the  "Continental  Battalion."  The 
nucleus  of  the  organization  was  young  men  of  the  "west  end"  of 
the  city.  Their  occupations  were  mostly  as  clerks  and  mechanics 
of  the  several  trades.  Captain  Whitcomb  was  killed  in  action  at 
Winchester,  Virginia,  March  23,  1862. 

First  Lieut,  was  promoted  to  Captain,  April  26,  1862 ;  resigned 
April  I,  1863. 

Second  Lieut,  promoted  to  First  Lieut.,  March  19,  1862;  to 
Captain,  January  8,  1863.  Died  Acquia  Creek,  Va.,  May  24, 
1863. 

COMPANY  F. 

Captain Theophilus  Gaines 

First  Lieut Robert  Brumwell 

Second  Lieut James  Kinkaid 

The  Captain  of  this  company  was  an  attorney  of  considerable 
renown  and  it  would  be  reasonable  to  expect  that  the  makeup 
would  contain  a  few  persons  of  the  same  profession,  but  it  is  not 
known  that  any  other  lawyer  was  enlisted  under  him.  The  mem 
bership  consisted  mostly  of  draymen,  brick-yard  hands,  and  la 
borers  from  the  west  end  of  the  city.  This  company  was  recog 
nized  also  as  a  part  of  the  original  Continental  Battalion. 

The  Captain  was  promoted  to  Major  and  Judge  Advocate  U. 
S.  A.,  November  ist,  1861. 

18 


First  Lieut,  resigned  February  28,  1862. 

Second  Lieut,  was  promoted  to  First  Lieut.,  January  22,  1862, 
and  to  Captain,  December  5,  1862.  Resigned  February  9th,  1863. 

COMPANY  G. 

Captain Alonzo  C.  Horton 

First  Lieut Waldo  C.  Booth 

Second  Lieut Frederick  A.  Moore 

The  officers  of  this  company  were  original  members  of  the 
"Cincinnati  Zouaves/'  very  competent  and  efficient.  The  raw 
recruits  profited  by  their  experience  as  Drill  Masters. 

The  Captain  resigned  August  21,  1861. 

First  Lieut,  was  promoted  to  Captain,  September  24,  1861. 
Resigned  December  15,  1861. 

Second  Lieut,  was  promoted  to  First  Lieut.,  September  4, 
1861,  and  to  Captain,  January  9,  1862.  Afterwards,  June,  1862, 
commissioned  by  the  Governor  of  Ohio  as  Colonel  of  the  83rd 
Infantry. 

COMPANY  H. 

Captain John  F.  Fletcher 

First  Lieut George  N.  C.  Frasier 

Second  Lieut William  V.  Neely 

Very  little  was  known  of  the  officers  of  this  company.  The 
recruiting  station  was  on  the  Public  Landing,  Cincinnati,  and  the 
membership  was  miscellaneous,  comprising  cooks,  stewards,  cabin 
boys,  and  stevedores  from  the  steamboats,  a  rough  lot  of  fellows 
and  hard  to  control.  The  officers  had  little  or  no  control  and  held 
themselves  very  much  on  an  equality  with  the  men  at  times.  The 
First  Lieut,  resigned  after  a  few  months  in  the  field.  The  Cap 
tain  left  the  company  at  Dumfries  in  the  winter  of  1862,  in  citi 
zen's  clothes  and  never  returned.  The  Second  Lieut,  was  se 
verely  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Cedar  Mountain,  through  the 
small  of  his  back,  went  to  the  hospital  at  Washington,  and  was 
finally  discharged  for  disability.  The  records  show  that  the 
First  Lieut,  resigned  January  i,  1862.  Second  Lieut,  was  pro 
moted  to  First  Lieut.  March  n,  1862;  to  Captain,  March  29, 
1863.  Resigned  May  25,  1863. 

COMPANY  I. 

Captain John   Collins 

First  Lieut Joseph  Rudolph 

Second  Lieut Harry  G.  Armstrong 

19 


This  was  strictly  a  Printers'  Company,  made  up  from  the 
printing  offices  of  the  city,  and  they  made  good  soldiers.  Cap 
tain  Collins  was  afterwards  promoted  to  Major.  First  and  Sec 
ond  Lieutenants  resigned  after  a  few  months  in  the  field. 

The  Captain  was  promoted  to  Major,  August  2,  1862.  Re 
signed  March  29,  1863. 

First  Lieutenant  resigned  March  n,  1862. 

Second  Lieut,  promoted  to  Major,  February  8,  1862.  Trans 
ferred  to  Field  Staff.  Resigned  May  24,  1862.  Recommissioned 
June  4,  1862.  Promoted  to  Lieut.  Colonel  August  2,  1862. 
Discharged  January  8,  1863. 

COMPANY  K. 

Captain Charles  H.  Jackson 

First  Lieut Thos.  W.  Hefferman 

Second  Lieut Charles  W.  Smith 

This  company  was  the  first  in  the  "Continental  Battalion,"  and 
was  recruited  from  all  parts  of  Cincinnati.  The  headquarters 
were  at  Court  and  Walnut  Streets.  The  membership  was  of  the 
very  best ;  all  young  men.  Clerks,  salesmen,  students  and  profes 
sional  men.  Captain  Jackson  was  not  with  the  company  after 
the  battle  of  Port  Republic. 

The  Captain's  resignation  took  effect  December  5,  1862. 

The  First  Lieut,  was  appointed  Adjutant,  June  n,  1862 ;  trans 
ferred  to  Field  Staff,  afterwards  appointed  to  Captain  of  Com 
pany  I. 

Second  Lieut,  was  promoted  to  First  Lieut,  and  appointed 
Adjutant  February  8,  1862.  Killed  at  Port  Republic,  June  9, 
1862. 

NOTE. — The  Roster  of  the  officers  of  each  Company  as  indicated 
in  this  book,  are  upon  the  original  enlistment  for  three  years  ser 
vice. 


20 


CHAPTER  II. 


DEPARTURE    FROM     CAMP    DENNISON ARRIVAL    AT     CLARKSBURG 

EXPEDITION   TO   OAKLAND ENCAMPMENT    PARKERSBURG EX 
PEDITION  TO  BUCKHANNON FRENCH  CREEK ROMNEY. 


We  continued  our  daily  routine  of  duty  until  July  10,  1861,  at 
which  time  we  left  Camp  Dennison  for  Western  Virginia.  Two 
days  preceding  were  occupied  in  getting  ready  to  embark.  The 
pass  privilege  to  the  city  had  been  cut  off,  and  the  result  of  this 
order  was  shown  by  delegations  of  fathers,  mothers,  sisters  and 
sweethearts  coming  to  camp  to  take  a  final  farewell.  There 
were  many  affecting  scenes.  The  morning  of  the  loth  found  us 
all  ready,  and  it  took  the  greater  part  of  the  day  to  get  everything 
on  board.  Two  long  trains  of  freight  cars,  with  only  bare 
wooden  seats,  were  at  our  disposal.  No  Pullman  sleepers  or  cafe 
cars  were  visible  in  those  days.  It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  be 
fore  the  final  "All  aboard"  was  called  and  we  "were  off." 

The  first  night  we  tried  to  get  some  sleep,  but  as  we  were 
packed  like  cattle,  it  was  difficult  to  even  stretch  out  on  the  floor 
of  the  cars.  "No  sleep  till  morn,"  the  boys  kept  thinking  all 
night.  We  crossed  the  Ohio  River  about  daylight  the  morning 
of  July  nth,  were  now  in  Rebeldom  and  the  boys  were  eager 
for  the  "Fray."  We  tarried  at  Benwood  a  short  time  and 
finally  moved  out,  drawn  by  a  couple  of  mountain  climbers, 
known  as  "camel-back"  engines,  formerly  owned  by  the  B.  &  O. 
R.  R.,  but  at  this  time  Uncle  Sam's  property.  They  snorted  and 
puffed  up  and  down  the  mountains  until  we  finally  arrived  at 
Grafton,  took  a  survey  of  the  place  and  then  proceeded  to  Clarks 
burg,  Virginia. 

Many  of  the  young  men  in  my  company  (C)  held  the  opinion 
that  as  soon  as  we  got  into  "Secesh"  we  would  find  a  rebel  be 
hind  every  tree.  An  amusing  scene  occurred  enroute  to  Grafton. 
The  air  was  crisp  and  foggy,  making  our  blankets  very  comfort- 

21 


able,  when  suddenly  the  sharp,  clear  report  of  a  shot  was  heard, 
and  every  one  in  our  car  was  alert,  getting  ready  to  "ram  a  cart 
ridge."  It  proved  to  be  that  an  officer  of  one  of  the  companies 
who  were  on  the  same  train  ahead  of  us  had  shot  at  a  rabbit. 
This  little  incident  went  to  show  how  a  small  thing,  early  in  our 
campaign,  would  disturb  one's  peace  of  mind,  but  as  ''Experience 
is  an  expensive  school,"  it  took  more  than  the  single  discharge 
of  a  pistol  to  disturb  us  a  few  months  later. 

My  recollection  is  that  we  reached  Clarksburg  late  in  the  day 
of  July  nth,  and  went  into  camp.  On  July  I4th,  (that  being 
the  anniversary  of  my  birth)  I  recollect  very  well  that  a  portion  of 
our  regiment  was  ordered  to  join  a  force  that  was  assembling  at 
Oakland,  Virginia,  under  General  Charles  W.  Hill,  to  intercept 
the  Rebel  General,  Garnett.  Companies  A,  D,  E,  G,  H,  I  and  K 
were  taken,  leaving  companies  B,  C,  and  F  to  remain  at  Clarks 
burg,  to  guard  the  stores.  I  might  say  right  here  that  the  5th 
Ohio  Regiment  was  not  unlike  many  other  regiments  that  went 
into  the  strife.  Contentions  and  petty  jealousies  existed.  The 
old  saying,  "When  Greek  meets  Greek,  then  comes  the  tug  of 
war"  in  this  instance  was  Scotch  against  Scotch,  and  the  feeling 
continued  throughout  the  service.  Strained  relations  existed  be 
tween  many  officers  of  the  line,  as  well  as  regimental  staff,  and  it 
was  this  strained  relationship,  it  was  thought,  that  caused  our 
company,  with  the  other  two,  to  be  held  back  from  the  Oakland 
trip. 

During  the  absence  of  the  seven  companies,  company  F  was 
detailed  to  build  a  telegraph  line  from  Clarkesburg  to  Weston 
and  was  kept  permanently  detached  from  the  regiment  until  late 
in  our  service,  the  exact  time  of  their  return,  I  do  not  remember. 
Captain  Gaines  was  very  hostile  in  his  feelings  toward  the  field 
officers,  and  the  short  time  he  was  with  us,  was  at  times  very  in 
subordinate.  While  we  were  at  Clarksburg,  he  was  detailed  as 
Judge  Advocate  on  General  Rosecrans'  staff,  and  later  was  as 
signed  to  the  staff  of  General  Sigel.  Afterwards,  he  succeeded 
in  procuring  from  the  President,  a  commission  as  Major  and 
Judge  Advocate  in  the  Regular  service. 

The  seven  companies  returning  from  the  reconnoiter  to  Cheat 
River,  the  two  companies,  "B"  and  "C"  left  at  Clarksburg,  joined 
the  seven  companies,  and  the  whole  nine  proceeded  to  Parkers- 
burg,  West  Virginia,  and  went  into  camp  with  some  Ohio  troops 
who  had  preceded  us.  Parkersburg  being  on  the  river,  and  at 

22 


the  mouth  of  the  Little  Kanawha,  offered  splendid  opportunity 
for  the  boys  to  bathe,  which  they  all  took  advantage  of  beside 
trips  up  the  Kanawha  and  down  to  Blennerhassett  Island  on 
the  Ohio.  While  in  camp  at  Parkersburg  a  very  disagreeable 
and  unpleasant  duty  was  performed.  Private  Alexander  M. 
Gates  of  Company  "G"  had  been  convicted  by  a  "Court  Martial" 
of  conduct  prejudicial  to  good  order  and  military  discipline  and 
was  drummed  out  of  camp  in  front  of  a  squad  of  men  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet,  while  the  band  played  the  Rogue's  March. 
The  report  of  the  Court  Martial  proceedings,  together  with  a  re 
port  of  the  execution  of  the  sentence,  was  forwarded  to  the  Presi 
dent,  Mr.  Lincoln,  who  disapproved  of  them,  ordering  Gates 
back  to  his  command.  Just  when  and  where  he  did  return,  I 
do  not  know.  Later,  however,  in  the  service  he  appeared  one 
day  mysteriously  and  reported  for  duty,  but  no  one  would  have 
anything  to  do  with  him,  and  he  disappeared  as  mysteriously  as 
he  came.  Afterwards,  he  was  known  as  a  "professional  Bounty 
Jumper." 

We  remained  at  Parkersburg  until  about  the  4th  of  August, 
when  we  were  again  moved  by  rail  to  Clarksburg,  August  5th. 
The  nine  companies  took  up  the  line  of  march  to  Buckhannon, 
twenty-eight  miles  away.  The  marching  for  a  few  miles  was  of 
a  fairly  regular  quality  but  before  the  day  was  over,  it  was  very 
irregular.  The  weather  was  very  warm,  and  the  weight  of  the 
accoutrements  became  a  burden.  Many  men  fell  by  the  wayside, 
completely  exhausted.  It  became  absolutely  necessary  that  relief 
should  come  to  them  and  many  articles,  such  as  blankets,  parts 
of  uniforms,  books  and  everything  that  could  be  dispensed  with, 
were  cast  off.  We  finally  straggled  into  Buckhannon  about  dark, 
and  camped  on  the  north  side  of  the  town  in  a  low  piece  of  tim 
ber  land,  which  proved  to  be  subject  to  overflow.  The  next  day 
we  were  moved  to  the  south  side  of  the  town,  on  a  piece  of  up 
land,  a  more  healthy  location. 

Our  line  of  transportation  was  a  sight,  using  two-horse  wagons, 
four,  and  in  some  instances  five  wagons  to  a  company,  and  with 
Headquarters,  medical  and  quartermaster's  department,  we  must 
have  aggregated  fully  seventy-five  wagons. 

The  town  of  Buckhannon  is  a  very  pretty  little  place,  nestled 
away  in  the  mountains  of  western  Virginia,  on  the  regularly 
traveled  turnpike,  leading  East  and  West,  and  at  the  junction  of 
the  road  leading  to  Beverly  and  Phillippi,  East,  and  Weston, 

23 


West.  The  regiment  was  camped  here  from  August  to  Novem 
ber,  except  three  companies,  A,  B  and  C,  that  were  detailed  to  out 
post  duty  and  were  sent  to  French  Creek,  about  ten  miles  away. 
The  detachment  at  French  Creek  had  an  engagement  with  Bush 
whackers  in  September,  scouting  through  Webster  County  and 
losing  one  man,  William  Bogert,  of  Company  C. 

While  camping  at  Buckhannon,  I  must  not  overlook  two  cir 
cumstances  that  have  always  remained  vivid  in  my  memory. 
The  camp  had  been  regularly  laid  out,  and  was  beautifully  situ 
ated,  and  the  field  officers'  quarters  were  in  keeping  with  the  rest 
of  the  camp,  but,  notwithstanding  this,  they  took  quarters  at  the 
principal  hotel  in  the  town,  about  one  mile  away.  I  thought  this 
a  breach  of  good  order,  and  military  discipline,  and  withal, 
gross  impropriety.  Seeing  the  example  set  by  the  highest  offi 
cers  of  the  regiment,  some  of  the  line  officers  did  likewise,  leav 
ing  their  commands,  except  at  times  of  drill  or  parade.  The 
second  incident  was  by  a  lot  of  the  worst  element  in  the  regi 
ment  congregated  in  a  local  barber-shop,  operated  by  a  large, 
burly  negro.  Whiskey  was  the  cause  of  the  trouble.  They  all 
drank  freely,  both  whites  and  blacks,  until  they  were  drunk,  and 
then  a  fight  became  general.  The  negro  barber  engaged  the 
worst  one  of  the  bunch,  who  proved  to  be  our  beforementioned 
"Scotty,"  the  "bad  man"  of  company  "B,"  and  in  the  scuffle, 
"Scotty"  bit  the  negro's  nose  off.  Filthy  to  think  of!  He  was 
afterwards  known  as  "the  man  who  bit  the  nigger's  nose  off." 
This  went  with  him  to  the  end  of  the  war.  In  battle,  there 
was  not  a  more  courageous  fellow  in  the  regiment  and  had  he 
been  of  a  more  refined  character,  would  have  received  a  commis 
sion  early  in  the  service  for  meritorious  conduct  in  action.  Early 
in  November,  the  regiment  consolidated  and  moved  back  to 
Clarksburg  and  thence  by  rail  to  New  Creek  Station  farther 
east  on  the  B.  &  O.  R.  R.,  arriving  at  New  Creek  about  November 
5th,  marching  by  the  regular  military  road  over  the  mountains 
and  reaching  Romney  about  the  7th.  The  regiment  remained 
here  during  November  and  December,  1861,  and  until  January 
10,  1862. 

The  action  near  Romney,  December  8,  1861,  the  attack  on  the 
picket  outpost  under  command  of  Lieut.  Paver,  at  Sheets  Mills, 
the  repulse  of  the  Rebels  and  the  burning  of  all  the  houses,  tan 
nery  and  everything,  was  spoken  of  as  commendable  in  a  report 
to  the  General  commanding.  Here  at  this  place,  December  8th, 

24 


a  very  deplorable  accident  occurred.  Parker  S.  Robinson,  Cor 
poral  Company  C,  Corporal  of  the  Guard,  making  his  rounds, 
was  shot  in  cold  blood  by  a  drunken  sentinel  without  provoca 
tion.  The  drunken  sentinel  was  from  the  same  company,  and  a 
strong  feeling  against  Robinson  is  said  to  have  been  the  cause  of 
it  all.  "The  way  of  the  transgressor  is  hard"  and  this  murderer 
received  his  just  dues  afterwards. 


25 


CHAPTER  III. 


DETAIL   FOR   RECRUITING   SERVICE — RETURN    TO   REGIMENT ON    TO 

RICHMOND POPE  CAMPAIGN. 


The  enthusiasm  in  the  early  part  of  1861,  the  calling  for  75,000, 
and  then  300,000  and  then  300,000  more  volunteers  had  about 
exhausted  the  fiery  spirit  so  that  towards  the  close  of  the  year, 
the  War  Department  issued  the  following  order : 

HEADQUARTERS  OF  THE  ARMY. 
Adjutant  General's  Office. 

WASHINGTON,  Dec.  3,  1861. 
General  Order,  No.  105. 

EXTRACTS. 

II.  The  Recruiting  Service  in  the  various  States  for  the  Vol 
unteer  forces  already  in  service  and  for  those  that  may  hereafter 
be  recruited,  to  be  placed  in  charge  of  General  Superintendents 
for  those  States  respectively,  with  general  depots  for  the  collection 
and  instructions  of  recruits  as  follows,  viz: 

Ohio,  Major  N.  C.  Macrea,  U.  S.  A. 
Camp  Chase,  Columbus,  Ohio. 

The  Superintendents  detailed  will  take  charge  of  the  Recruit 
ing  service  in  the  various  states  in  which  they  are  assigned,  on 
the  ist  day  of  January,  1862. 

III.  Commanding  officers  of  the  Regiments  will  detail  two 
Commissioned  Officers  and  four  Non-Commissioned  Officers  or 
privates  to  report  in  person  to  the  Superintendents  of  the  Recruit 
ing  Service  for  their  respective  States  on  the  ist  day  of  January, 
1862,  or  as  soon  thereafter  as  practicable. 

The  officers  and  non-commissioned  officers  will  be  detailed  for 

26 


1863 


a  tour  of  six  months,  and  will  be  assigned  as  recruiting  parties 
to  rendezvous  by  the  Superintendents.  If  found  incompetent, 
they  will  be  released  and  replaced  by  others. 

By  Command  of  MAJOR  GENERAL  MCCLELLAN. 

L.  THOMAS, 
Adjutant  General. 

The  detail  for  recruiting  service  from  the  5th  O.  V.  I.  was  two 
officers  and  four  men. 

Second  Lieutenant,  John  M.  Paver,  Company  C. 

Second  Lieutenant,  James  Timmons,  Company  I. 

Corporal  W.  B.  Heal,  Company  A. 

Private  John  Ross,  Company  K. 

The  other  two  members  of  the  detail  I  cannot  now  recall  to 
my  mind.  We  were  ordered  to  report  to  the  Governor  of  the 
State,  to  whom  we  reported  early  in  January,  1862,  thence  to 
Major  N.  C.  Macrea,  of  the  regular  army,  more  recently  of  New 
port  Barracks,  who  had  been  assigned  as  superintendent  of  the 
Ohio  Recruiting  Service,  his  office  being  on  Third  Street,  east 
of  Broadway,  Cincinnati.  Thence,  we  went  to  the  Elm  Street 
Barracks,  which  were  in  charge  of  Major  R.  S.  Granger,  U.  S. 
Army,  on  parole,  having  been  paroled  at  San  Antonio,  Tex., 
when  this  fort  was  captured  early  in  1861.  Lieut.  Timmons  was 
sent  to  Perrysburg,  Ohio,  and  I  was  detailed  as  quartermaster, 
at  the  barracks.  The  remainder  of  the  detail  was  scattered 
throughout  the  city,  recruiting.  Every  county,  every  township 
had  its  workers,  and  every  recruit  was  sent  to  the  rendezvous  in 
Cincinnati.  There,  they  were  housed,  fed,  clothed  and  drilled, 
and  when  a  sufficient  number  had  been  secured,  were  sent  to 
regiments  that  needed  them  most. 

I  continued  to  act  as  quartermaster  at  the  barracks  until  early 
in  June,  when  an  order  was  received  abolishing  the  State  Re 
cruiting  Service,  and  all  officers  and  men  returned  to  their  several 
regiments.  I  was  a  little  longer  in  getting  back  to  my  regiment, 
as  I  was  detailed  by  Major  Granger  to  settle  up  and  transfer  the 
property  to  the  Post  quartermaster  at  Cincinnati.  This  took 
some  time  after  the  closing  of  the  rendezvous.  I  immediately 
undertook  to  find  my  regiment.  The  last  I  had  heard  of  them, 
they  were  going  down  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  they  had  fought 
the  battle  of  Port  Republic,  and  after  this  had  become  lost.  The 
only  logical  route  to  follow  to  find  them  was  through  Washing- 

27 


ton,  where  I  arrived  as  near  as  I  can  recollect  about  the  middle 
of  June.  Here,  I  was  "held  up"  for  several  days,  hearing  all 
kinds  of  reports.  Train  after  train  was  coming  in  from  the 
front,  loaded  with  wounded.  Constant  inquiries  did  not  develop 
anything  satisfactory.  The  War  Department  was  visited  for 
three  days  in  succession  without  result,  until  the  last  day  Mr. 
Stanton,  Secretary  of  War,  advised  me  that  if  I  could  get  to  War- 
renton  Junction,  I  might  be  able  to  intercept  "Shields'  Division." 
I  at  once  took  the  boat  for  Alexandria,  and  thence  by  the  Ma- 
nassas  R.  R.  went  to  Warrenton.  When  I  reached  this  point,  I 
learned  from  a  teamster  that  my  regiment  with  others  of  "Shields' 
Division"  was  lying  at  Bristow  Station,  where  I  finally  found 
them,  and  we  marched  to  Alexandria,  reaching  there  the  last  of 
June  or  July  1st.  Here  I  was  appointed  acting  Regimental 
Quartermaster,  and  immediately  commenced  drawing  clothing, 
camp  equipage  and  quartermaster  stores,  which  meant  every 
thing  from  a  mule  shoe  to  wagon  bows  and  pieces  of  harness.  I 
found  the  regiment  in  a  very  dilapidated  condition  as  to  clothing, 
etc.,  but  in  a  short  time,  we  were  in  good  shape,  through  a  good 
rest,  new  clothes,  new  shoes  and  "extra  rations ;"  something  a  sol 
dier  does  not  get  in  an  active  campaign. 

During  the  time  we  were  "fitting  out"  at  Alexandria,  we 
learned  that  the  remnants  of  Fremont's,  Banks',  McDowell's  and 
Shields'  Armies  had  been  consolidated  and  called  the  "Army  of 
Virginia"  under  Pope.  "Headquarters  in  the  saddle,"  "On  to 
Richmond,"  a  "sure  thing"  via  the  Rapidan  River  Route.  We 
remained  at  Alexandria  the  greater  part  of  the  month  of  July. 
About  the  25th,  we  moved  towards  Warrenton,  Virginia,  where 
we  secured  additional  quartermaster  stores,  such  as  fresh  mules, 
"green  ones"  and  such  fun  as  we  had  to  get  them  broken  for 
service.  Then  to  Little  Washington.  Here  our  Brigade  re 
ceived  additional  strength  in  the  shape  of  two  Pennsylvania  Regi 
ments,  also  a  new  commander,  General  John  W.  Geary,  who  had 
a  record  during  the  "Border  Ruffian"  Kansas  State  early  history. 
His  speech  to  the  boys  of  the  old  Brigade,  the  5th,  7th,  2Qth  and 
66th  Ohio  Regiments,  was  accepted  very  graciously  and  after 
wards  great  confidence  was  put  in  him,  as  a  commanding  of 
ficer. 


28 


HEADQUARTERS  ARMY  OF  VIRGINIA. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  July  14,  1862. 
To  the  Officers  and  Soldiers  of  the  Army  of  Virginia: 

By  special  assignment  of  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
I  have  assumed  command  of  this  army.  *  *  *  I  have  come 
to  you  from  the  West,  where  we  have  always  seen  the  backs  of 
our  enemies;  from  an  army  whose  business  it  has  been  to  seek 
the  adversary  and  to  beat  him  when  he  was  found ;  whose  policy 
has  been  attack  and  not  defense. 

In  but  one  instance  has  the  enemy  been  able  to  place  our 
Western  armies  in  defensive  attitude.  I  presume  that  I  have 
been  called  here  to  pursue  the  same  system  and  to  lead  you  against 
the  enemy.  It  is  my  purpose  to  do  so,  and  that  speedily. 

I  am  sure  you  long  for  an  opportunity  to  win  the  distinction 
you  are  capable  of  achieving.  That  opportunity  I  shall  endeavor 
to  give  you. 

Meantime,  I  desire  you  to  dismiss  from  your  minds  certain 
phrases,  which  I  am  sorry  to  find  much  in  vogue  amongst  you. 

I  hear  constantly  of  "taking  strong  positions  and  holding 
them,"  of  "lines  of  retreat,"  and  of  "bases  of  supplies."  Let  us 
discard  such  ideas. 

The  strongest  position  a  soldier  should  desire  to  occupy  is  one 
from  which  he  can  most  easily  advance  against  the  enemy.  Let 
us  study  the  probable  lines  of  retreat  of  our  opponents,  and  leave 
our  own  to  take  care  of  themselves.  Let  us  look  before  us,  and 
not  behind.  Success  and  glory  are  in  the  advance,  disaster  and 
shame  lurk  in  the  rear. 

Let  us  act  on  this  understanding,  and  it  is  safe  to  predict  that 
your  banners  shall  be  inscribed  with  many  a  glorious  deed  and 
that  your  names  will  be  dear  to  your  countrymen  forever. 

JNO.  POPE. 

Major-General  Commanding. 

Both  this  bombastic  order  of  General  Pope's  and  his  failure  in 
this  campaign,  the  official  records  attest ;  and  for  want  of  tact  and 
judgment  and  bad  taste,  stands  alone  as  the  worst  in  the  history 
of  the  War.  He  boasted  of  what  he  had  done  and  what  he  would 
do.  A  few  days  after  the  issuing  of  the  circular,  "To  the  Officers 
and  Soldiers"  an  order  from  him  indicated  that  his  "Headquarters 
would  be  in  the  Saddle"  and  that  the  troops  should  subsist  upon 

29 


the  country.  This  was  an  extremely  stupid  blunder  to  say  the 
least,  for  the  troops  that  had  been  serving  in  this  department, 
knew  that  the  whole  country  from  Blue  Ridge  to  the  Potomac  had 
been  overrun  with  both  armies  and  not  a  living  thing  or  a  spear 
of  grass  could  be  found.  To  have  such  an  order  sent  them  was 
convincing  proof  of  the  calibre  of  the  man  "in  the  saddle."  His 
orders  were  received  with  considerable  amusement.  There  was 
a  lack  of  respect  for  his  ability,  created  by  this  proclamation  and 
subsequent  orders  to  "win  distinction."  "That  opportunity,  I 
shall  endeavor  to  give  you,"  says  Pope.  His  whole  command  of 
officers,  as  well  as  men,  lost  faith  in  him,  and  classified  him  as  a 
"Four-Flusher."  His  career  was  short  and  not  creditable. 


30 


CHAPTER  IV. 


BATTLE     CEDAR     MOUNTAIN RETROGRADE    MOVEMENT. 


The  "On  to  Richmond"  has  now  commenced  in  full  earnest. 
Pope  was  marching  and  concentrating  his  forces  as  near  to  the 
Rapidan  River  as  possible.  Lee  and  Jackson  were  moving  north 
to  intercept  Pope.  They  first  came  together  about  five  miles 
south  of  Slaughter's  Mountain,  or  as  most  historians  have  it, 
Cedar  Mountain,  and  some  even  call  this  engagement  the  Bat 
tle  of  Culpepper  Court  House,  while  in  reality,  it  should  be 
"Slaughter's  Mountain."  The  full  force  of  this  engagement 
was  on*fgra^fc)th,  1862.  We  were  in  Banks'  Division.  The  bat 
tle  was  fierce,  and  our  regiment  lost  heavily  in  both  officers  and 
men.  At  the  time  of  this  engagement,  the  hospital  department 
of  each  regiment  was  under  the  immediate  control  of  the  Sur 
geons  of  the  regiments.  The  ambulances  were  in  charge  of  the 
quartermasters  of  each  regiment,  and  the  duty  of  taking  care 
of  the  wounded  on  battle  fields  devolved  on  them.  We  had  two 
four  horse,  double-deck,  and  four  two  horse,  or  single  ambu 
lances  busy  all  day  of  the  9th,  bringing  the  wounded  soldiers 
from  off  the  battle  field,  and  taking  them  to  the  field  hospital. 

Our  field  hospital  was  located  slightly  under  the  protection  of 
the  mountain.  At  different  times  an  enfilading,  screeching, 
screaming  fire  from  the  rebel  batteries  was  thrown  into  us, 
notwithstanding  the  red  hospital  flag  was  flying.  Armstrong, 
Remley,  Kirkup,  Neely,  Thomas,  McKenzie  and  Yerkes,  all 
wounded  officers,  hobbled  back  on  sticks,  ram-rods,  and  swords 
the  best  they  could,  to  the  railroad  station  at  Culpepper  and  were 
from  there,  taken  to  hospitals  at  Washington.  With  them  went 
along  many  a  school  boy  chum  of  mine.  Our  forces  fell  back 
from  the  mountain  and  made  a  temporary  stand  at  Culpepper. 
We  succeeded,  however,  in  getting  all  of  our  wounded  back, 
and  on  the  trains  for  Washington.  There  were  many  pathetic 

31 


and  heartrending  scenes.  The  country  from  Cedar  Mountain 
to  Culpepper  was  desolation  itself;  strewn  with  wreckage  of  a 
receding  army,  and  the  dead  carcasses  of  horses  filling  the  air 
with  foul  stench.  In  some  instances  where  time  had  been  taken 
huge  fires  made  of  fence  rails  were  built  over  their  dead  bodies, 
to  hasten,  in  a  sanitary  way,  their  destruction. 

The  "On  to  Richmond"  via  Rapidan  River  Route  enterprise 
was  turned  into  a  general  retreat  in  less  than  thirty  days  from  the 
time  that  Pope  issued  his  bombastic  order.  Instead  of  the  Union 
soldiers  singing  "On  to  Richmond,"  and  "We'll  Hang  Jeff  Davis 
on  a  Sour  Apple  Tree,"  the  rebel  soldiers  were  singing,  "Mary 
land,  My  Maryland"  and  "We're  Getting  thar  very  Fast."  The 
loth  and  nth  of  August  were  taken  up  in  gathering  the  wounded 
that  had  been  placed  in  the  churches,  school  houses  and  at  other 
points  in  Culpepper  to  the  railroad  station,  to  be  sent  to  Wash 
ington.  Just  two  months  previous  to  a  day,  our  army  had  been 
defeated  at  Port  Republic,  and  now,  to  be  punished  again  in  a 
like  manner,  was  very  humiliating  and  discouraging. 

Only  after  Pope's  outrageous  failure,  retreating  and  fighting 
all  the  way  from  the  Rapidan  to  the  fortifications  of  Washing 
ton,  did  he  comprehend  that  he  had  over-estimated  his  ability. 
Once  under  the  protection  of  the  fortifications,  Pope  asked  to  be 
released  from  duty.  The  army,  the  public,  and  the  world  at 
large,  hailed  his  retirement  with  satisfaction.  With  his  release, 
the  army  of  Virginia  passed  out  of  existence,  and  its  corps  were 
attached  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  Following  this  up,  there 
was  much  confusion,  the  army  still  falling  back,  and  about  the 
time  we  passed  through  Centerville,  I  was  taken  to  the  hospital 
at  Alexandria,  with  a  case  of  intermittent  fever,  contracted  dur 
ing  the  strenuous  life  that  I  had  experienced  since  my  return 
from  city  duty.  I  had  been  threatened  with  fever  for  several 
days,  and  could  hold  out  no  longer.  This  was  about  the  last  of 
August.  I  remained  here  until  I  was  convalescent  and  rejoined 
my  regiment  after  the  battle  of  Antietam,  at  Harper's  Ferry. 


32 


CHAPTER  V. 


RECONNOISANCE  TO  WINCHESTER — RECONNOISANCE  TO  CHARLES- 
TOWN MUD  MARCH  TO  DUMFRIES SKIRMISH  WITH  STU- 

ART'S  CAVALRY. 


December  6th,  we  were  out  on  a  little  reconnoisance  to  Win 
chester,  and  wound  up  by  having  a  little  skirmish  at  Charlestown 
on  the  7th.  Returning  to  Boliver  Heights,  we  remained  a  few 
days  and  on  December  loth,  took  up  our  march  to  join  General 
Hooker's  forces  near  Fredericksburg.  The  weather  had  been 
very  bad.  The  rains  had  made  the  roads  almost  impassable, 
especially  when  the  wheels  of  so  many  hundred  wagons  were 
"churning  them  up."  The  wagons  were  very  heavily  ladened. 
The  tents  were  wet,  and  frozen  just  enough  to  make  them  disa 
greeable  to  handle.  We  had  great  trouble  in  getting  through 
to  Dumfries,  Virginia.  We  arrived  muddy,  wet  and  weary, 
about  December  I7th,  and  went  into  winter  quarters.  About 
December  27th,  the  troublesome  rebel  General  Stuart  attacked 
our  camp  a  short  time  after  noon,  and  kept  up  the  fight  until 
dark.  He  annoyed  us  first  by  attacking  us  on  the  south  side, 
and  then  swinging  around  and  attacking  us  on  the  north  side  of 
our  camp.  The  skirmish,  I  will  say  (it  could  hardly  be  called 
a  battle),  was  short  and  sweet.  Nevertheless  one  full  battery  of 
six  guns,  and  four  fragments  of  regiments  on  our  side,  and  two 
guns  and  about  two  hundred  men  on  the  rebel  side,  constituted 
the  engaging  forces,  as  far  as  I  can  recollect,  at  this  late  day. 
We  lost,  in  killed,  Lieut.  Walker,  and  Private  Le-Force  of  Com 
pany  "G." 

The  next  incident  was  while  I  was  visiting  Brigade  Head 
quarters  with  Colonel  Candy  commanding  the  brigade.  We 
noticed  a  "White  Flag"  across  the  bayou,  which  was  directly  in 
front  of  Headquarters.  The  signal  was  answered,  and  a  rebel 
Major  was  escorted  to  Colonel  Candy  for  an  interview.  The 

33 


object  of  the  visit  was  ostensibly  to  get  a  survey  of  the  surround 
ings  and  see  how  strong  we  were.  In  retiring,  he  made  a  re 
quest  for  quinine.  Rather  bold,  after  the  short  time  before,  when 
he  had  been  shelling  us  with  grape  and  canister.  When  asked  why 
he  made  this  request,  he  answered  in  a  most  gentlemanly  and 
polished  manner  that,  "The  exigencies  of  the  case  demand  it." 
He  returned  under  the  white  flag  to  the  outpost,  Colonel  Candy 
having  furnished  him  the  necessary  medicine. 

The  winter  of  1862  and  1863  was  spent  in  quarters  at  Dumfries, 
Virginia.  The  failure  of  McClellan  before  Richmond,  the  Pope 
and  Burnside  disasters  of  1862,  had  brought  us  down  to  Dumfries 
in  a  wornout  condition.  The  morale  of  the  army  were  not  of 
the  best.  The  President's  Proclamation,  to  take  effect  on  New 
Year's  Day,  1863,  abolishing  slavery,  caused  a  decided  sensation 
among  the  soldiers.  Our  regiment  was  a  city  raised  organiza 
tion,  and  was  bitterly  opposed  to  the  negro's  freedom.  In  one  in 
stance,  a  captain  conspired  for  and  secured  a  suit  of  civilian 
clothes  and  boldly  left  camp,  making  no  attempt  to  conceal  his 
identity.  He  never  returned,  and  just  how  the  War  Department 
Records  have  his  name,  I  know  not,  but  it  should  be,  "deserted  in 
the  face  of  the  enemy." 

General  Joseph  Hooker  assumed  command  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  January  26,  1863,  and  established  his  Headquarters  at 
Stafford  C.  H.  We  were  camped  about  twelve  miles  from  Army 
Headquarters.  The  condition  of  the  whole  army  was  a  much 
disorganized  one  when  Hooker  took  command.  The  months 
of  January,  February,  March  and  April  were  used  in  maturing 
new  plans,  refitting,  and  replenishing  clothing  and  transporta 
tion.  The  number  of  wagons  was  reduced  for  each  regiment. 
Officers'  baggage  was  reduced  to  the  lowest  limit. 

As  winter  wore  away  and  spring  opened,  this  gave  new  life 
and  new  energy.  On  April  26th,  Hooker  issued  orders  to  the 
army  to  move.  On  April  29th,  our  corps,  the  I2th,  under  Gen 
eral  H.  W.  Slocum,  crossed  the  Rappahannock  at  Kelly's  Ford- 
destination,  Chancellorsville.  How  this  place  secured  the  name 
is  perplexing.  Chancellorsville  was  a  characteristic  southern  vil 
lage,  consisting  of  one  house,  at  the  junction  of  two  roads,  (Gor- 
donville  turnpike,  and  the  Orange  Court  House  plank  road)  very 
respectable  in  appearance,  and  with  a  few  outbuildings  that  had 
been  negro  quarters.  I  said  our  destination  was  Chancellors 
ville,  but  we  did  not  reach  there  for  a  couple  of  days.  The  trans- 

34 


portation  or  wagon  trains  did  not  cross  the  Rappahannock.  They 
kept  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  and  parked  at  "United 
States"  Ford,  where  a  pontoon  bridge  had  been  built. 

An  order  from  General  Hooker  prohibited  all  wagons  to  cross 
the  river,  only  in  cases  of  emergency,  such  as  hospital  wagons 
and  ambulances.  During  our  stay  at  Dumfries  pack  saddles  had 
been  issued  to  us,  and  here  at  United  States  Ford,  we  used  them 
to  get  rations  to  our  regiment.  Rations  were  issued  and  packed 
to  them  under  great  difficulty.  Sometimes  we  could  reach  them 
in  a  few  hours.  At  other  times,  it  took  all  day,  the  changing 
of  position  making  it  difficult  to  get  their  location.  Many  times 
we  found  ourselves  in  the  midst  of  enfilading  fires,  from  which 
we  escaped  under  the  first  cover.  Mules  are  stubborn  "critters" 
and  when  they  are  surrounded  with  such  noise  and  excitement 
as  was  found  here,  it  was  a  hard  job  to  keep  them  from  stamped 
ing.  The  Regimental  Commissary  Sergeant,  and  the  Wagon 
Master,  under  my  supervision,  had  charge  of  the  delivery  of  the 
rations. 

The  long  winter  rest  had  an  influence  on  us  in  stimulating  con 
fidence  in  our  leaders.  My  experience  was  of  such  a  peculiar 
character  that  it  made  a  lasting  impression  upon  me.  The 
strength  of  our  army  was,  by  the  actual  field  reports,  much  larger 
than  the  rebel  army,  and  what  was  most  humiliating  was  to  be 
defeated  by  an  army  of  so  much  inferiority. 

May  2nd,  1863,  (Saturday)  a  day  of  unusual  activity,  our 
wagons  were  parked  on  the  river  bank,  overlooking  the  pontoons 
at  United  States  Ford.  We  had  the  opportunity  of  witnessing 
regiments  and  divisions  crossing,  heading  towards  Chancellors- 
ville.  Sunday,  May  3rd,  1863,  we  received  orders  to  get  our 
pack  mules  ready  and  proceed  without  delay  with  three  days 
rations  for  our  men.  On  our  way  to  Division  Headquarters, 
we  encountered  much  disorder.  Regiments,  brigades  and  di 
visions  having  changed  positions,  made  it  difficult  to  find  our 
regiment.  At  last  it  was  found,  and  the  rations  delivered  and 
the  pack  train  ordered  back  to  camp.  I  was  detained  tempor 
arily  at  Division  Headquarters.  Everything  was  excitement. 
"Stonewall"  Jackson  was  passing  to  our  extreme  right  to  attack 
our  flank.  The  nth  corps,  commanded  by  General  Howard, 
had  been  informed  many  times  during  the  day  that  Jackson  was 
making  a  "detour"  to  attack  his  flank,  but  he  paid  no  attention 
whatever  to  the  information.  About  five  o'clock  Jackson  made 

35 


the  attack,  and  then  it  was  that  the  nth  corps  was  so  demoralized 
that  a  stampede  followed.  The  I2th  corps  was  brought  up  to 
intercept  the  fleeing  men,  but  met  with  little  success. 

A  large  part  of  the  nth  corps  was  of  German  organization  and 
had  been  very  much  attached  to  General  Sigel,  who  but  a  short 
time  before  had  been  removed  from  his  command.  This  removal 
had  greatly  displeased  the  Germans  and  added  a  great  deal  to  the 
demoralizing  effect.  The  5th  day  of  May,  1863,  brought  with  it 
a  feeling  of  despondency.  Our  Army  was  retiring  to  the  north 
bank  of  the  Rappahannock.  Our  regiment  had  lost  heavily.  Some 
of  our  best  officers  and  men  had  perished.  Our  Lieut.  Colonel, 
(Kilpatrick)  had  been  severely  wounded  in  the  right  arm  and  left 
thigh.  As  he  crossed  the  pontoon  bridge,  riding  his  horse,  led  by 
his  ever-faithful  orderly,  John  Evans,  we  intercepted  him  and 
everything  that  the  quartermaster's  department  could  do  was 
done  to  relieve  him. 

A  consultation  of  medical  officers  decided  that  to  save  his  life 
an  amputation  was  necessary.  Two  wall  tents  are  thrown  up ;  a 
canopy  is  made  of  the  flys ;  a  dissecting  or  operating  table  is  hur 
riedly  made  of  some  empty  boxes  and  the  tail  gates  of  wagons. 
The  Colonel  is  placed  there,  and  now  comes  the  most  agonizing 
experience  of  my  whole  army  life.  I  had  seen  many  men 
mangled  by  shot  and  shell,  but  this  was  a  case  of  a  very  dear 
friend.  His  arm  was  terribly  mangled,  and  it  must  be  amputated. 
I  am  brought  face  to  face  with  a  surgical  operation,  something 
that  I  had  shunned  from  the  first.  Here,  indeed,  was  a  severe 
test  of  my  nerve.  I  braced  myself  for  the  ordeal.  The  Colonel 
was  quickly  placed  under  the  influence  of  ether,  and  there,  though 
displaying  the  red  hospital  flag,  shells  were  constantly  dropping 
and  exploding  close  around  us.  It  was  my  unpleasant  duty  to 
hold  the  forceps  that  kept  the  patient's  tongue  from  shrinking 
back  into  the  throat,  an  event  that  would  have  resulted  fatally. 
Thus  far,  so  good,  but  as  soon  as  the  surgeons  made  the  first  in 
cision,  I  felt  my  strength  failing  me,  and  I  called  my  friend,  Tom 
Folger,  to  take  my  place.  I  was  down.  I  lost  my  balance;  the 
fact  was,  I  fainted.  How  long  I  remained  thus,  I  cannot  recall, 
probably  only  a  few  minutes ;  on  regaining  my  senses,  I  found 
myself  (outwardly)  in  a  very  damp  condition  from  the  effect  of 
a  couple  of  canteens  of  water  having  been  generously  used  in 
bringing  me  to.  As  I  opened  my  eyes  I  found  my  contraband, 
Elijah  Ruffin,  standing  over  me  with  a  canteen  of  "Commissary" 

36 


(not  water.)  That  night,  we  hurried  the  Colonel  to  Acquia  Creek, 
and  with  him  sent  his  man  "Friday,"  with  a  canteen  of  whiskey, 
for  an  emergency.  This  scamp  drank  the  whiskey  himself,  in  fact, 
got  beastly  drunk  and  lay  by  the  roadside  and  the  Colonel  went 
through  to  Acquia  Creek  without  servant  and  without  whiskey. 
This  is  the  last  I  ever  saw  of  this  fellow.  The  Colonel  afterwards 
told  me  how  he  acted,  so  that  my  statement  can  be  taken  as  truth 
ful. 

The  overly-reliable  sentiment  expressed  in  Hooker's  order  that 
"The  army  hailed  with  satisfaction,  etc.,  etc.,"  is  shown  by  the 
disgust  that  even  the  mules  hee-hawed,  hee-hawed  at  the  bunko 
order,  and  the  "poor  whip-poor-will"  bird  cried  aloud,  "Hooker's 
Whipped,  Hooker's  Whipped."  The  birds  of  the  air,  and  the 
beasts  of  the  field  felt  the  depression  of  our  defeat.  The  speech 
less  mule,  that  poor,  thick-headed  beast  of  burden,  whose  heels 
were  always  ready  for  a  kick,  and  whose  sides  had  stood  the  as 
sault  of  "Black  Snakes,"  branches  of  trees  and  army  boots,  was 
justified  in  braying  out  his  dismay. 

The  closing  scene  of  our  experience  at  the  ford  was  getting  our 
wounded  back  to  Acquia  Creek.  It  was  still  storming,  and  the 
river  was  swollen  and  rising  rapidly,  and  the  stragglers  were 
streaming  across  the  pontoons,  until  it  became  a  very  dangerous 
feat  to  cross.  The  pontoons  finally  broke  loose,  and  many  a  poor 
fellow  was  left  on  the  south  side  of  the  Rappahannock  to  his  fate. 
I  have  no  knowledge  of  any  member  of  our  Regiment  being  left. 
The  Congressional  committee  on  the  conduct  of  the  war  says 
that  the  causes  of  Hooker's  failure  at  Chancellorsville  were, 

First.  "The  stampede  of  the  nth  Corps,  May  2nd." 
Second.  "Injury  of  General  Hooker,  May  3rd." 
Third.  "Failure  of  General  Sedgwick  to  carry  out  orders  to 
fall  on  the  rear  of  Lee's  forces,  Monday,  May  3rd." 

Fourth.  "Entire  failure  of  General  Stoneman's  cavalry  to  per 
form  the  part  assigned  him;  i.  e.,  cut  off  Lee's  communication 
with  Richmond." 

Leaving  the  United  States  Ford  on  the  Rappahannock  about 
May  7th,  where  our  trains  had  been  parked  since  the  1st,  our 
course  was  due  north.  "The  Army  of  the  Potomac  had  not 
been  beaten,  but  its  commander  had."  The  close  of  the  battle 
of  Chancellorsville  found  the  Union  Army  still  strong  in  num 
bers,  but  a  little  dismayed.  Reorganization  was  necessary.  Once 

37 


more  our  brigade  took  a  position  in  the  vicinity  of  Stafford  Court 
House,  remaining  in  camp  until  early  in  June.  About  the  middle 
of  the  month,  we  moved  up  toward  Fairfax  Court  House,  then  to 
Drainsville,  thence  to  Leesburg;  from  Leesburg  via  Edward's 
Ferry  to  Monocacy,  then  to  Frederick,  Maryland,  thence  to 
Farmington  and  Bruceville.  We  had  been  retrograding  and  pro 
tecting  our  flanks  with  occasional  skirmishes,  and  chasing  Lee's 
army  to  the  North.  When  we  arrived  at  Frederick,  we  found 
our  army  in  much  confusion.  All  the  roads  leading  toward 
Gettysburg  were  full  of  troops  hurrying  toward  the  battle 
field.  The  department  at  Washington  had,  for  several  weeks, 
been  quarreling  with  the  commander  of  the  army  (Gen.  Joseph 
Hooker)  and  he  had  become  so  exasperated  that  he  had  re 
quested  to  be  relieved  from  his  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Po 
tomac.  This  request  was  granted,  and  during  the  passing  of  our 
army  through  Frederick,  General  Hooker  addressed  us  from  the 
balcony  of  the  hotel,  telling  how  difficult  it  was  to  do  business 
with  Washington,  and  saying  in  substance :  "That  it  took  twenty- 
two  hours  out  of  the  twenty-four  to  do  business  with  Mr.  Stan- 
ton,  Secretary  of  War,  and  only  two  hours  to  maneuver  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac."  This  ended  Hooker's  career  with  the  Potomac 
Army.  Many  petty  persecutions  characterized  the  actions  of  the 
department  towards  good,  faithful,  competent  officers,  one  of 
whom  was  certainly  Major  General  Joseph  Hooker. 

General  Meade  succeeded  Hooker  about  the  last  of  June.  The 
army  was  by  this  time,  moving  rapidly.  Frederick  was  the  base 
of  supplies.  We  were  moved  each  day  closer  to  the  battlefield, 
as  near  as  it  would  permit,  with  our  supply  train,  keeping  in 
touch  with  our  command,  ready  to  furnish  rations  and  ammuni 
tion,  part  of  the  time  on  the  Emmitsburg  road,  and  part  of  the 
time  on  the  Tannytown  road.  Of  the  actual  three  days  of  fighting 
around  Gettysburg,  on  July  2d,  3d  and  4th,  General  Meade  sums 
up  the  events  in  his  address  to  the  army  on  the  morning  of  July 
4th,  1863,  as  follows: 

HEADQUARTERS  ARMY  OF  POTOMAC. 

Near  Gettysburg,  July  4. 

The  Commanding  General,  in  behalf  of  the  country,  thanks 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac  for  the  glorious  result  of  the  recent 
operations. 

Our  enemy,  superior  in  numbers,  and  flushed  with  the  pride  of 

38 


successful  invasion,  attempted  to  overcome  or  destroy  this  army. 
Utterly  baffled  and  defeated,  he  has  now  withdrawn  from  the 
contest.  The  privations  and  the  fatigue  the  army  has  endured 
and  the  heroic  courage  and  gallantry  it  has  displayed,  will  be 
matters  of  history  to  be  ever  remembered.  Our  task  is  not  yet 
accomplished,  and  the  Commanding  General  looks  to  the  army 
for  greater  efforts  to  drive  from  the  soil  every  vestige  of  the  pres 
ence  of  the  invader. 

It  is  right  and  proper  that  we  should  on  suitable  occasion  re 
turn  our  grateful  thanks  to  the  Almighty  Disposer  of  Events, 
that  in  the  goodness  of  His  Providence,  He  has  thought  fit  to  give 
victory  to  the  cause  of  the  just. 

By  command  of  MAJOR  GENERAL  MEADE. 

S.  WILLIAMS, 
A.  A.  General. 

After  the  battle,  (July  4th)  where  both  armies  had  practically 
exhausted  themselves,  the  rebel  army  was  shown  to  be  the  most 
severely  punished,  yet  they  were  permitted  to  escape,  when,  if 
vigorously  followed  up,  the  remnant  of  Lee's  army  could  have 
been  annihilated,  or  captured.  General  Meade  has  been  severely 
criticised  because  he  showed  no  desire  to  continue  the  struggle. 
In  fact,  he  did  not  exhibit  any  disposition  to  pursue  until  Lee  had 
gotten  well  on  towards  the  Potomac  river. 

On  our  return  through  Frederick  on  the  National  Road,  a  good 
macadamized  thoroughfare,  just  west  of  the  town,  we  were 
treated  to  a  slight  change  in  the  scene  by  seeing  hanging  to  a 
"persimmon"  tree,  the  body  of  an  almost  naked  man,  the  frag 
ment  of  a  dirty  shirt  still  left  on  him.  Report  had  it  that  Aver- 
ill's  Cavalry  had  captured  him  as  a  spy  and  strung  him  up  in 
great  shape.  Pieces  of  his  garments  had  been  clipped  as  me 
mentos  until  nothing  was  left.  His  body  was  getting  very  much 
decomposed.  This  was  the  last  we  saw  of  him. 


39 


CHAPTER  VI. 


RETURN  TO  VIRGINIA OCEAN  TRIP  TO  NEW  YORK — WESTERN  TRIP. 


The  losses  to  the  army  in  1863  at  Cedar  Mountain  and  Gettys 
burg,  were  so  great  and  the  return  of  many  of  the  two-year  regi 
ments,  had  reduced  the  fighting  strength  to  a  point  that  was  giv 
ing  considerable  anxiety  to  the  country,  as  well  as  the  Department 
at  Washington. 

In  our  pursuit  of  the  rebel  army,  during  its  retreat  to  Virginia, 
our  corps  retraced  its  steps.  About  the  i6th  of  July,  at  or  near 
Sandy  Hook,  going  to  Pleasant  Valley,  crossing  the  Potomac  at 
Harper's  Ferry  to  Snickersville  to  Ashby  Gap,  then  through 
Thoroughfare  Gap  to  Warrenton  Junction,  and  then  to  a  point  on 
the  Manassas  railroad,  arriving  the  latter  part  of  July.  The  draft 
in  New  York  was  meeting  with  opposition.  A  short  time  after 
reaching  the  banks  of  the  Rappahannock  on  our  return  from 
Gettysburg,  an  order  was  received  that  two  brigades  of  western 
troops,  tried  and  true,  weatherbeaten  and  rugged,  be  odered  to 
New  York  City  to  suppress  the  riot,  if  called  upon,  and  it  might 
be  said  right  here  that  the  Department  had  by  this  time,  become 
much  alarmed. 

About  August  2Oth  or  25th,  four  regiments  of  our  brigade, 
(5th,  7th,  29th  and  66th  Ohio)  were  selected  and  took  the  cars 
at  Cattletts  Station,  for  Alexandria.  In  making  this  move,  we 
were  ordered  to  turn  over  all  of  our  wagons  and  mules  and  sur 
plus  horses.  Here  comes  a  scramble.  Out  transportation  out 
fit,  (5th  O.  V.  10  was  of  the  best.  My  drivers  had  scoured  the 
quartermaster's  department  for  the  best  mules,  and,  as  soldiers 
are  not  overly  conscientious,  "pressed  in"  or  "swiped"  many  a 
good  one.  Ours  was  the  envy  of  the  Brigade,  Division  and  Corps 
quartermasters.  Giving  them  up  was  like  parting  with  old 
friends.  Captain  Parker  of  General  Geary's  Headquarters  got 
the  best.  The  two  remaining  regiments  of  our  brigade,  28th  and 

40 


1 47th  Pennsylvania,  were  left  in  camp  with  General  Geary.  It 
was  thought  best  to  not  take  eastern  troops  to  suppress  a  riot  in 
an  eastern  state.  Arriving  at  Alexandria,  we  laid  around  the 
streets  until  we  were  ready  to  embark.  The  big,  black  paddle- 
wheel  North  Atlantic  Steamship,  "Baltic,"  lay  out  in  the  Poto 
mac  River,  opposite  the  ferry  landing,  to  take  us  "somewhere," 
not  known  then. 

After  a  good  many  delays,  mishaps,  with  carousing,  drunken 
men,  we  got  everything  and  everybody  aboard,  weighed  anchor, 
and  went  slowly  and  cautiously  down  the  river,  feeling  our  way 
carefully,  as  this  big  steamship  was  drawing  all  the  water  in  the 
river.  Every  employe,  from  captain  down  to  stokers,  were  for 
eigners  of  the  very  worst  kind,  and  were  not  friendly  to  our 
cause.  The  pilot  was  a  southerner,  and  when  about  half  way  out 
of  the  river,  our  big  boat  went  aground  at  a  place  called  the 
"Kettle  Bottom"  Shoals,  it  was  with  great  difficulty  that  we  kept 
our  men  from  murdering  him,  as  he  was  looked  upon  as  a  south 
ern  spy  or  sympathizer,  and  it  was  suspected  that  he  had  run  the 
boat  aground  purposely.  Lighters  were  brought  down  from  Al 
exandria  and  we  laid  in  this  mud  flat  for  several  days,  giving  our 
boys  ample  time  for  salt  water  bathing.  After  getting  afloat 
again  and  going  slowly  down  the  river  to  Chesapeake  Bay  into 
deep  water,  we  could,  with  the  assistance  of  glasses,  see  Fortress 
Monroe,  and  the  harbor  with  shipping  of  all  styles,  and,  at  this 
particular  time  none  other  than  the  American  flag  flying.  As 
we  came  close  to  the  mouth  of  the  harbor  we  dropped  our  pilot; 
and  took  to  the  deep  and  mighty,  rolling  Atlantic. 

Up  to  the  present  time,  the  pleasure  of  being  on  the  water  had 
been  enjoyed  by  every  one.  As  we  got  farther  and  farther  away 
from  the  sight  of  land,  the  big  ship  began  to  be  more  boisterous. 
The  waves  were  commencing  to  run  mountain  high.  The  lung 
ing  and  surging  of  the  ship,  rising  high  one  minute  and  the  next 
diving  apparently  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  caused  much  disturb 
ance  in  the  stomachs  of  every  one.  Officers,  as  well  as  privates 
were  "heaving  Jonah"  or  vomiting  all  over  everything  and  every 
body.  Some  of  the  boys  were  very  sick,  moaning  and  groaning, 
apparently  in  the  last  stages  of  dissolution. 

A  little  bunch  of  officers  of  our  regiment,  of  which  I  was  a 
central  figure,  had  made  particular  preparations,  anticipating  the 
evil  effects  of  an  ocean  trip.  A  good  supply  of  lemons  and 
Scotch  whiskey  had  been  secured  before  leaving  Alexandria. 

41 


The  weatherbeaten  old  Scotchmen  who  were  in  our  party  did  not 
suffer  much.  The  writer  had  a  slight  touch  of  nausea,  but  with 
the  stimulants,  pulled  through  fairly  well.  Finally,  we  sighted 
land  once  more,  and  how  glad  we  felt !  In  due  time,  we  came  to- 
anchor  outside  of  the  harbor  at  New  York  City,  and  signaled  for 
a  pilot.  Waiting  several  hours,  we  proceeded  up  through  the 
Narrows,  passing  the  forts  in  great  shape,  until  we  arrived  at 
Governor's  Island,  where  we  disembarked  and  camped.  This 
was  the  commencement  of  a  great  experience.  On  one  side  the 
great  city  with  its  towering  steeples  and  high  buildings;  on  the 
other,  the  great  channel,  or  water  gateway  for  the  shipping  of 
the  world.  These  were  great  sights  to  us  Westerners,  and  as 
one  of  the  young  fellows  who  had  roughed  it  for  two  years,  now, 
to  be  surrounded  by  such  luxuries,  I  wish  to  say  that  I  took  ad 
vantage  of  my  opportunities.  Giving  my  quartermaster  sergeant 
instructions  and  signing  a  goodly  supply  of  ration  blanks,  I  left  in 
company  with  the  assistant  surgeon  of  our  regiment  for  two  days 
"leave"  to  see  the  sights.  Well,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  we  did  see 
the  sights.  On  this  trip,  I  was  the  banker  of  our  regiment.  I 
was  the  only  officer  who  had  money  of  any  amount.  While  lying 
at  Alexandria,  I  went  up  to  Washington,  on  leave  of  absence, 
"fixed  up"  for  the  occasion,  and  succeeded  in  getting  two  months* 
pay,  and  when  I  returned,  I  was  flush.  In  New  York  City  I 
loaned  many  of  the  officers  money.  Some  of  it  was  never  re 
paid.  We  remained  in  New  York  until  about  September  8th, 
when  our  return  trip  commenced.  We  had  not  been  called  into 
service  to  suppress  any  uprising  or  riot. 

We  arrived  back  at  Alexandria,  about  the  I2th  of  September. 
September  I3th  we  marched  to  Fairfax,  thence  to  Manassas, 
thence  to  Warrenton  Junction,  thence  to  Brandy  Station,  thence  to 
Raccoon  Ford,  and  went  into  camp  with  our  old  division. 

September  i8th  we  witnessed  the  execution  of  two  deserters 
from  a  New  York  regiment.  At  Warrenton  Junction,  we  were 
turned  loose  in  the  wagon  yards  and  mule  pens  to  select  transpor 
tations;  to  us,  this  was  anything  but  a  pleasant  job,  after  only 
three  weeks  had  passed  since  we  surrendered  some  of  the  finest 
teams  in  the  service.  We  did  not  complete  the  task.  September 
24th  we  were  ordered  to  take  the  cars,  and  without  secrecy,  it  was 
announced  that  we  were  going  West,  to  help  the  boys  under  Rose- 
crans.  Our  route  was  through  Washington  City,  via  B.  &  O. 
R.  R.  to  the  Ohio  River,  thence  through  Columbus,  Ohio.  Indian- 

42 


apolis,  Louisville,  Nashville  to  Murfreesboro,  Tenn.  At  Bellaire, 
I  took  "French  Leave"  and  went  direct  to  Cincinnati,  Ohio, 
stayed  over  night,  saw  my  people,  and  "best  girl"  and  went  on 
next  day  to  Louisville,  by  mail  boat.  From  Louisville  down  to 
Nashville  everything  was  in  a  turmoil.  The  movement  of 
23,000  men,  with  all  the  artillery,  ammunition,  baggage,  etc., 
1,192  miles  in  seven  days  was  a  great  undertaking.  The  road 
from  Louisville  to  Nashville,  and  thence  to  Murfreesboro,  and  all 
the  way  to  Bridgeport  was  over  the  U.  S.  Military  railroad,  and 
was  very  rough.  We  made  stops  at  Wartrace,  Bell  Buckle,  Nor 
mandy  and  Stevenson,  before  reaching  Bridgeport. 

From  Murfreesboro  our  duty  was  bridge  guarding,  watching 
for  guerrillas  and  bushwhackers.  Shelbyville,  Normandy,  War- 
trace,  Deckard  and  Stevenson  were  places  that  received  our  at 
tention.  The  transporting  of  all  the  supplies  for  a  large  army 
over  a  single  track  railroad,  like  the  Nashville  &  Chattanooga, 
during  the  war,  was  an  undertaking  too  large  for  its  resources. 
Nashville  was  headquarters  for  quartermaster  stores,  and  every 
thing  in  the  way  of  mules  and  wagons  had  to  be  supplied  from 
this  place.  We  came  from  the  eastern  army  fresh,  without  a 
strap,  saddle  or  buckle,  and  in  this  condition  we  found  ourselves 
distributed  along  this  one-track  railroad.  Nothing  with  which 
to  transport  our  rations  from  supply  point  to  each  company  sta 
tion.  , 

Normandy  was  headquarters  for  the  regiment  from  October 
nth  to  28th.  Wagons  were  absolutely  necessary  and  the  division 
quartermaster,  Captain  Parker,  summoned  all  regimental  quarter 
masters  to  meet  him  at  Nashville,  about  the  middle  of  October. 
This  was  done,  and  here  is  where  our  trouble  began.  Transpor 
tation,  (wagons  and  mules)  was  secured,  and  loaded  with  cloth 
ing,  rations,  and  other  stores,  and  after  many  vexatious  delays, 
we  started  with  a  train  of  over  100  wagons,  civilians  as  wagon- 
masters  and  teamsters,  and  these  of  the  worst  element  that  we 
had  ever  encountered.  Thieves,  bums,  loafers  and  bounty  jump 
ers  were  our  only  help  for  that  long  and  tedious  trip  over  the 
Cumberland  Mountains,  to  Stevenson  and  Bridgeport,  Alabama. 

Leaving  Nashville  with  our  immense  wagon  train  about  the 
middle  of  October,  1863,  we  took  a  southeasterly  course  through 
Shelbyville  to  Dechard.  Thus  far,  the  roads  were  in  fair  condi 
tion,  and  the  country  was  level.  We  had  traveled  up  to  this  time, 
some  six  days.  At  Dechard,  the  railroad  goes  through  the  moun- 

43 


tains  and  the  wagon  road,  over  the  backbone  of  the  Cumberland 
range.  We  worked  two  days  with  green  mules  and  stubborn 
drivers,  and  heavily  loaded  wagons,  getting  to  the  top  of  the 
mountain.  We  commenced  to  descend  on  the  opposite,  or  west 
ern  slope,  and  such  an  experience!  Wreck  upon  wreck.  Dead 
mules  everywhere.  Quartermaster  stores,  clothing,  rations,  all 
strewn  broadcast.  The  loss  to  the  government  will  never  be 
known.  We  were  three  days  crossing  the  range,  and  finally 
reached  Stevenson,  ten  miles  from  Bridgeport.  Our  trip  from 
Nashville  to  Bridgeport,  120  miles,  consumed  the  time  until  about 
the  first  of  November,  1863. 

Once  at  Bridgeport,  and  once  more  with  our  command,  we 
were  hailed  with  a  great  deal  of  joy  in  some  sections  and  in  others 
with  "kicking"  to  beat  the  band.  You  know  that  a  soldier,  if 
with  nothing  else  to  do,  can  grumble  and  complain.  We,  our 
selves,  thought  we  had  reason  to  grumble,  but  no !  We  were  the 
target,  and  we  were  thoroughly  punctured,  but  we  lived  through 
it. 

Shortly  after  our  arrival,  which  was  about  November  1st,  1863, 
we  were  ordered  forward  with  three  days'  rations.  This  really 
meant  for  six  days,  as  everything  was  on  half  rations.  Leaving 
Bridgeport  with  considerable  anxiety  on  our  minds,  we  crossed 
the  railroad  bridge,  which  had  been  planked  for  troops  and  teams, 
passing  Shellmound,  and  Whitesides,  camping  at  Wauhatchie. 
After  several  days  of  fighting  and  skirmishing,  we  crossed  the 
Tennessee  River  at  Brown's  Ferry,  camping  on  Moccasin  Point. 
Transportation  in  bad  condition;  mules  eating  everything  in 
sight,  not  stopping  at  wagon  poles  and  wagon  covers.  We  had 
been  without  a  pot  of  bean  soup  for  so  long  that  we  were  "fight 
ing  hungry."  Finding  about  a  quart  of  beans  in  the  feed  box  of 
Tom  Watts'  wagon,  the  next  thing  was,  pork  to  "sweeten"  it. 
We  were  camping  on  an  abandoned  rebel  camp  ground,  and  we 
sent  our  contraband  out  to  see  what  he  could  find  in  this  camp. 
Much  to  our  joy  and  surprise,  he  came  back  with  the  ribs  of  a 
"razor-back"  hog,  dug  up  in  the  rebel  camp.  We  gave  the  bones 
a  hot  water  bath,  and  then  commenced  making  bean  soup.  And, 
talk  about  hungry  men!  Here  was  a  bunch  sitting  around 
"watching  the  pot  boil."  In  due  time  we  got  our  share,  and 
how  well  I  remember  that  meal !  A  big  cup  of  bean  soup  and  a 
handful  of  "hard  tack." 

We  lay  here  until  the  rebels  were  routed  from  Lookout  Moun- 

44 


tain,  when  we  crossed  over  to  the  mainland  again,  and  kept  up 
with  our  command.  The  assault  on  Lookout  was  November 
23d,  24th  and  25th.  The  "cracker  line"  was  opened.  After  the 
advance  as  far  as  Ringgold,  we  returned  to  Bridgeport  for  win 
ter  quarters. 

Serving  as  quartermaster,  the  greater  part  of  my  service,  at 
tached  to  the  business  part  of  the  army,  thus  gave  me  opportuni 
ties  for  obtaining  vivid  experiences.  The  officers  detached  in  dif 
ferent  departments  of  the  service,  such  as  quartermasters,  com 
missaries,  inspectors  and  medical  department,  were  not  looked 
upon  as  a  part  of  the  fighting  strength  of  the  army,  but  neverthe 
less,  they  had  many  hazardous  undertakings.  Their  duties  were 
well  and  faithfully  performed,  with  credit  to  themselves,  and 
honor  to  the  Cause. 

With  all  of  our  hardships,  many  amusing  incidents  happened. 
The  wagon  train  was  the  rounding-up  place  for  all  stragglers, 
bums  and  "coffee-coolers/'  shirkers  of  their  duties  as  soldiers, 
cowardly  fellows  who  always  wanted  to  be  detailed  as  wagon 
guards,  teamsters  or  attendants  in  the  hospital  department.  Our 
duties  kept  us  close  up  to  our  command,  and  we  had  very  little 
use  for  these  classes  of  fellows. 

The  "Battle  above  the  clouds"  was  the  culmination  of  efforts 
put  forward  by  the  consolidation  of  the  military  division  of  Ohio, 
Cumberland  and  Tennessee,  the  result  being  the  capture  of  the 
mountain,  opening  of  the  "cracker  line"  via  Wauhatchie  Valley, 
the  relief  of  Chattanooga,  and  driving  of  the  rebel  army  beyond 
Ringgold,  Georgia.  The  winter  of  1863  was  spent  in  preparing 
for  spring  work,  1864.  The  2Oth  Army  Corps  was  wintering  in 
Lookout  Valley.  The  2d,  "Geary's  White  Star  Division,"  was 
camped  at  Bridgeport. 


45 


CHAPTER  VII. 


VETERANIZATION — LEAVING  BRIDGEPORT — ARRIVING  AT  CINCIN 
NATI — REORGANIZATION  AT  CAMP  DENNISON — RETURN  TO  THE 
FRONT A  NEW  SUTLER. 


In  June,  1863,  the  War  Department  issued  an  order,  offering 
as  an  inducement  for  re-enlistment,  a  thirty-day  furlough,  an  ex 
tra  month's  pay,  and  $402  as  a  bounty. 

WAR  DEPARTMENT. 
Adjutant  General's  Office. 

WASHINGTON,  June  25,  1863. 
General  Orders,  No.  191. 

FOR  RECRUITING  VETERAN  VOLUNTEERS. 

In  order  to  increase  the  armies  now  in  the  field,  volunteer  in 
fantry,  cavalry  and  artillery  may  be  enlisted  at  any  time  within 
ninety  days  from  this  date,  in  the  respective  States,  under  the 
regulations  hereinafter  mentioned.  The  volunteers  so  enlisted, 
and  such  of  the  three  years'  troops  now  in  the  field  as  may  re- 
enlist  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  this  order,  will  consti 
tute  a  force  to  be  designated  "Veteran  Volunteers."  The  regula 
tions  for  enlisting  this  force  are  as  follows : 

I.  The  period  of  service  for  the  enlistments  and  re-enlistments 
above  mentioned  shall  be  for  three  years,  or  during  the  war. 

II.  All  able-bodied  men,  between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and 
forty-five  years,  who  have  heretofore  been  enlisted,  and  have 
served  for  a  period  of  not  less  than  nine  months,  and  can  pass 
the  examination  required  by  the  mustering  regulations  of  the 
United  States  may  be  enlisted  under  this  order  as  Veteran  Volun 
teers,  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  hereinafter  set  forth. 

III.  Every  volunteer  enlisted  and  mustered  into  service  as  a 

46 


Veteran  under  this  order,  shall  be  enlisted  to  receive  from  the 
United  States,  one  month's  pay  in  advance,  and  a  bounty  and  pre 
mium  of  four  hundred  and  two  ($402)  dollars. 

*********** 

VIII.  After  the  expiration  of  ninety  days  from  this  date  volun 
teers  serving  in  three  years'  organizations,  who  may  re-enlist  for 
three  years  or  the  war,  shall  be  entitled  to  the  aforesaid  bounty 
and  premium  of  $402,  to  be  paid  in  the  manner  herein  provided 
for  other  troops  re-entering  the  service.  The  new  term  will  com 
mence  from  date  of  re-enlistment. 
*********** 

X.  As  soon  after  the  expiration  of  their  original  terms  of  en 
listment  as  the  exigencies  of  the  service  will  permit,  a  furlough 
of  thirty  days  will  be  granted  to  men  who  may  re-enlist  in  accord 
ance  with  the  provisions  of  this  order. 

By  Order  of  THE  SECRETARY  OF  WAR. 

D.  E.  TOWNSEND, 
Assistant  Adjutant  General. 

Between  June  and  December,  1863,  we  were  engaged  in  an 
active,  vigorous  and  progressive  campaign,  and  no  time  to  re 
organize  presented  itself.  Lying  in  winter  quarters  at  Bridge 
port  in  December,  however,  the  subject  of  re-enlistment  was 
opened  up.  Every  officer  was  expected  to  use  his  best  influence. 
Officers  were  not  required  to  veteranize,  as  their  commissions 
were  for  three  years  from  date  and  promotions  were  practically 
new  terms  of  service.  Every  inducement  imaginable  was  held 
out  to  the  men.  Privates  were  promised  Corporalships.  Corpor 
als  were  to  be  Sergeants,  and  Sergeants  were  to  be  Lieutenants. 
As  soon  as  our  regiment  succeeded  in  getting  enough  re-enlist 
ments  to  maintain  the  regimental  organization,  the  field  and  staff, 
and  colors,  together  with  company  officers  numbering  all  told 
231,  left  Bridgeport  January  27,  1864,  via  rail  for  Cincinnati,  ar 
riving  at  the  O.  &  M.  R.  R.  Co.  depot,  February  ist,  1864.  We 
were  met  by  a  delegation  of  citizens  who  escorted  us  through  the 
principal  streets  of  the  city  until  we  reached  Mozart  Hall,  or  the 
Grand  Opera  House,  corner  of  Vine  and  Longworth  Streets, 
where  a  reception  was  held.  After  this  was  over,  the  boys 
""broke  ranks"  for  thirty  days. 

Headquarters  were  established  in  the  basement  of  the  hall,  and 

47 


here  I  distributed  clothing  during  our  stay  in  the  city.  The  re 
mainder  of  the  furlough  can  be  told  by  each  survivor,  as  to  how 
he  put  in  his  time.  The  writer  can  say  briefly,  however,  that  the 
full  measure  of  enjoyment  of  his  furlough  was  taken.  Toward 
the  end  of  our  furlough,  March  1st,  1864,  a  grand  Farewell  Ball 
and  Flag  Presentation  was  given  the  veterans  of  the  regiment, 
at  the  hall  in  Mechanics'  Institute,  corner  of  Vine  and  Sixth 
Streets.  Everybody  was  there,  and  everybody's  girl  also.  This 
was  the  Grand  Finale  before  going  to  camp  again. 

I  was  married  February  i8th,  1864,  to  Miss  Augusta  W.  Zoin- 
er  of  Cincinnati,  and  besides  the  members  of  her  family,  Colonel 
Patrick,  Dr.  Tibbals  and  my  faithful  contraband,  Elijah  Ruffin, 
were  witnesses  to  the  ceremony.  I  will  not  say  that  I  regret  being 
married  at  this  time,  but  it  would  have  been  better  had  we  delayed 
it  until  after  the  close  of  the  war.  One  of  the  considerations  of 
the  contract  was  that  I  would  not  re-enlist,  and  that  I  would  re 
turn  at  the  expiration  of  my  service.  This  I  did  on  the  I9th  of 
June,  1864,  and  was  mustered  out  July  4,  1864,  at  Cincinnati. 
Some  severe  criticisms  were  made  because  I  refused  to  accept  a 
promotion  to  a  Captaincy,  while  at  Camp  Dennison,  reorganizing. 
In  explanation  of  this  to  Colonel  Patrick,  I  had  informed  him  of 
my  promise  to  my  young  wife,  that  I  would  retire  after  the  expi 
ration  of  my  time.  This  was  satisfactory  to  him,  but  not  to  Major 
Symmes,  who  had  me  listed  for  a  Captaincy,  as  well  as  promo 
tions  for  others.  My  name  was  sent  to  the  Governor  and  my 
commission  came,  but  was  returned  with  endorsement,  "promo 
tion  declined."  This  did  not  please  Symmes.  By  retiring  at 
this  time,  I  missed  the  most  eventful  period  of  the  war,  viz :  "The 
March  to  the  Sea"  and  the  "Grand  Review"  in  Washington  City, 
at  the  close.  This,  I  have  always  regretted. 

At  the  expiration  of  the  furlough,  we  were  ordered  to  Camp 
Dennison  to  reorganize.  Many  recruits  were  secured,  and  many 
promotions  were  made,  and  we  left  for  the  front  March  23d,  ar 
riving  back  at  Bridgeport  about  March  26th,  1864.  We  took  up 
our  old  quarters.  The  non veterans  appeared  to  enjoy  our  com 
ing  back.  Every  one  had  stories  to  tell  of  the  time  spent  at 
home.  We  were  not  long  in  falling  into  our  regular  routine  of 
camp  life.  Right  here,  I  would  like  to  record  this  little  incident. 

While  in  Cincinnati,  Colonel  Patrick  made  a  contract  with  a 
Jew  by  the  name  of  Billigheimer  to  be  our  sutler.  It  was  not 
generally  known  while  in  the  city,  but  shortly  after  our  return  to 

48 


Bridgeport,  the  monotony  of  camp  life  was  broken  by  the  appear 
ance  of  the  Jew  with  a  stock  of  goods.  How  he  succeeded,  and 
what  "scheming"  he  did  to  enable  him  to  run  the  "blockade," 
never  was  known.  He  opened  up  in  the  freight  car  at  first,  and 
everybody  far  and  wide,  (within  division  lines)  took  advantage  of 
his  presence.  He  was  the  first  sutler  we  had  had  since  the  days 
of  old  John  Hunt,  "Apple  Butter  John"  as  he  was  best  known. 
Billigheimer,  "to  make  good  with  the  Colonel,"  smuggled  a  cask 
of  "Nashville  Best  Brew"  through  in  his  car.  Enough  is  known 
that  it  came  through  all  right  and  was  "consumed."  To  show 
our  genuine  hospitality,  the  Colonel  suggested  to  the  quarter 
master  (Paver)  that  fie  invite  a  few  officers  from  brigade,  di 
vision  and  regimental  headquarters.  Following  the  Colonel's 
suggestion,  the  invitations  were  sent  and  I  believe  it  entirely  su 
perfluous  to  say  that  they  were  most  heartily  and  quickly  accepted. 
I  shall  never  forget  the  occasion.  Beer  and  wit  flowed  in  quanti 
ties  to  suit.  The  quartermaster  of  the  5th  Ohio  became  "re 
nowned."  The  festivities  were  kept  up  until  midnight.  Every 
body  was  more  or  less  feeling  the  effects  of  the  entertainment, 
so  much  so,  that  General  Geary  threatened  us  with  arrest,  unless 
the  "lights  were  put  out  immediately."  That  ended  the  fun. 


49 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

FORWARD    MOVEMENT    1864 — CHANGE    IN     CORP    ORGANIZATION 

BATTLE  OF  MILL  CREEK,  GEORGIA — BATTLE  OF  RES  AC  A,  GEORGIA 

CAPTURE  OF  FOUR  GUN  BATTERY — ADVANCE  PUMPKIN  VINE 

CREEK — DEATH   OF  COLONEL  PATRICK. 


When  the  movement  early  in  May  commenced,  all  unnecessary 
baggage  was  left  behind,  and  five  days  rations  were  issued  at  a 
time.  Light  marching  orders  had  been  issued.  Tent  flys  for 
officers,  shelter  tents  for  the  men,  one  pack  mule  with  cooking 
utensils  for  officers'  messes,  two  wagons  with  rations  for  men  and 
horses,  were  the  allowances  for  regiments.  The  general  supply 
trains  were  limited  to  carrying  food,  ammunition,  clothing  and 
tools. 

During  our  stay  at  Bridgeport,  some  slight  changes  had  been 
made  in  the  organization  of  our  corp — the  nth  and  I2th,  with 
Major  General  Butterfield's  and  Major  General  Ward's  divisions, 
were  consolidated  with  us,  and  made  the  2Oth  under  the  command 
of  Major-General  Joe  Hooker.  About  May  3rd,  we  pulled  stakes, 
moved  out,  passing  Lookout  Mountain,  to  Ringgold,  Ga.,  and 
reaching  Mill  Creek,  Ga.,  about  the  nth.  Here  occurred  a  severe 
contest,  a  repulse  with  considerable  loss.  About  three  days  after 
this,  we  had  moved  up  close  toward  Reseca,  where  the  great 
battle  for  the  Four  Gun  Battery  took  place.  Much  has  been 
written  as  to  whom  the  honor  of  digging  them  out  belonged. 
The  records  of  the  War  Department  clearly  decrees  that  honor 
to  be  the  5th  Ohio  Vol.  Infantry's.  I  quote  from  the  report. 
"The  guns  remained  between  the  armies  until  night,  when  they 
were  taken  out  and  brought  off  by  a  detachment  of  the  5th  Ohio 
Volunteer  Infantry,  under  Colonel  Kilpatrick."  During  all  this 
time,  our  supply  train  was  within  speaking  distance  of  head  quar 
ters.  The  guns  were  taken  during  the  night  to  Division  Head 
Quarters.  By  early  morning,  the  rebel  army  had  retired  and 

50 


with  comrade  Tom  Folger,  I  rode  up  into  the  deserted  and  de 
molished  earth  works. 

The  Army  continued  to  advance  as  far  as  Cassville,  where  we 
halted  for  a  few  days  for  rest,  and  from  here,  all  sick  and  dis 
abled  ones  were  sent  to  the  rear.  About  the  2Oth  of  May,  we 
crossed  the  Etowah  River,  and  about  the  25th,  we  were  at  or  near 
Pumpkin  Vine  Creek.  Before  crossing  the  creek  and  while  our 
command  was  temporarily  at  rest  under  arms,  I  was  summoned 
to  report  to  Colonel  Patrick  for  consultation.  As  I  approached 
to  where  he  was  sitting  alone,  waiting  for  me  to  report,  the  sharp 
shooters  caught  sight  of  me,  and  many  a  whizzing  ball  came  un 
comfortably  close.  I  was  hailed  by  the  boys  to  look  out,  or 
"they  would  get  me."  Reporting  to  the  Colonel,  I  found  him  in 
a  deep  study,  and  the  first  words  he  said  were,  "I  have  a  pre 
sentiment  that  during  the  next  advance,  and  to  which  all  indi 
cations  point  for  its  being  a  hard  fight,  I  believe  I  won't  get 
through,"  saying  which  he  handed  me  some  rings  and  little  trin 
kets  that  had  belonged  to  his  wife,  giving  me  instructions  as  to 
whom  they  should  be  sent,  should  his  presentiment  of  death 
prove  true.  We  did  not  talk  long.  The  command  went  forward 
and  I  retired  to  my  post  of  duty.  The  attack  was  followed  by 
grape  and  canister,  and  it  was  getting  toward  night  and  rain 
ing.  In  this  advance,  our  Colonel  received  a  mortal  wound  from 
a  canister  shot,  his  horse  having  been  killed  about  the  same  time. 
His  body  was  taken  care  of,  and  under  the  escort  of  Private 
Samuel  Hall  Company  C,  was  sent  North,  and  afterwards  was 
buried  in  Wesleyan  Cemetery,  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  General  Sher 
man  speaking  of  the  engagement  says,  "Geary's  White  Star 
division  was  the  leading  division  in  this  movement.  The  night 
was  very  dark,  raining  hard,  and  much  confusion."  All  reports, 
all  records  of  the  Atlanta  Campaign  from  Bridgeport,  November 
1863,  to  Atlanta,  1864,  show  conclusively  that  the  2nd  division, 
2Oth  Army  corps,  was  continuously  and  actively  engaged.  There 
is  only  one  solution  to  this.  They  were  fighters  who  came  from 
the  eastern  army. 

After  leaving  Pumpkin  Vine  Creek,  and  advancing  each  day 
until  we  had  reached  Big  Shanty,  about  June  7th,  we  remained 
until  the  I2th,  when  an  order  was  received,  ordering  the  non- 
veterans,  whose  terms  of  service  had  about  expired,  to  Chatta 
nooga,  to  be  mustered  out,  under  the  command  of  Lieut.  Colonel 
R.  L.  Kilpatrick.  One  officer  from  each  company  was  instructed 

51 


to  go  as  far  as  Chattanooga,  and  make  out  the  rolls,  and  then 
return  to  their  command.  Shortly  after  they  had  gone,  I  re 
ceived  the  following  order,  and  overtook  them  at  Chattanooga, 
remaining  until  the  rolls  were  made,  and  making  all  necessary 
arrangements  for  transportation  to  Cincinnati.  Before  leaving 
Big  Shanty,  I  transferred  all  the  quarter  master  stores  to  Lieut. 
Alex.  Mott.  Sergeant  Joseph  L.  Gaul,  Company  C  was  made 
Commissary  Sergeant,  and  Peter  A.  Cozine,  Company  K  was 
made  Quarter  Master  Sergeant. 

(Here  follows  my  order.) 
HEADQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  CUMBERLAND. 

BIG  SHANTY,  GA.,  June  I2th,   1864. 
Special  Field  Order  160: 

EXTRACT. 

VI.  ist  Lieut.  /.  M.  Paver,  R.  Q.  M.,  5th  Ohio  Infty.  will  be 
relieved  from  duty  in  this  Department  on  the  I5th  Inst,  and  ac 
company  that  portion  of  his  Regiment  whose  terms  of  service 
expired  at  that  time,  to  Ohio,  for  the  purpose  of  being  mustered 
out. 

The  Quarter  Master's  Dep'm't  will  furnish  the  necessary  trans- 
portation. 

By  Command  of  Major-General  Thomas. 

ist  Lieut.  J.  M.  Paver, 

R.  Q.  M.  5th  Ohio  Infty. 

WM.  D.  WHIFFLES, 

Assistant  Adjutant  Genl. 

The  men  going  home  at  this  time  did  not  represent  the  regular 
organization,  as  it  was  in  the  field.  The  non-veterans  were  mus 
tered  out  at  Chattanooga,  June  2Oth,  1864,  receiving  their  final 
pay  a  few  days  later,  at  Cincinnati.  I  have  been  unable  to  secure 
a  strictly  accurate  or  exact  report  of  those  who  did  not  veter 
anize,  but  from  correspondence  along  this  question,  with  a  num 
ber  of  the  boys,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  number  was  between  225 
and  250.  A  great  reception  awaited  them,  being  escorted  through 
the  city  to  Mozart  Hall,  and  here  the  jollification  reached  its 
highest  pitch.  One  thing  I  recollect  was  that  while  Colonel  Kil- 
patrick  and  myself  were  traveling  with  the  men  from  Chatta- 


nooga,  there  was  no  controlling  them,  and  each  man  was 
apparently  his  own  commander.  They  had  been  mustered  out 
and  were  free,  while  the  Colonel  and  myself  were  still  officers 
in  the  service. 

I  was  mustered  out  in  Cincinnati,  July  4th,  1864,  and  after 
having  worn  the  blue  uniform  for  over  three  years,  I  felt  a  lit 
tle  queer  to  be  once  more  clad  in  civilian  clothes.  I  did  not  at 
tempt  to  keep  a  tally  on  the  total  number  of  miles  that  I  passed 
over  from  my  enlistment  until  my  muster-out,  nor  search  any 
records  to  obtain  this,  as  it  does  not  figure  as  an  essential  fact. 


53 


CHAPTER  IX. 


FINAL  REMARKS CORRESPONDENCE. 


During  the  years  that  have  passed  and  those  that  will  pass  until 
the  last  Union  Soldier  shall  pass  away,  his  right  to  criticism  will 
be  shown.  I  am  liberal  enought  to  say  that  his  motives  were 
good,  and  he  was  a  child  of  circumstances,  sworn  to  uphold  the 
institutions  of  his  Country,  protect  the  flag  and  obey  orders. 
Jealousy  characterized  the  actions  of  many  officers,  as  well  as 
enlisted  men  toward  each  other.  Severe  criticisms  were  made 
throughout  the  entire  service.  There  are  names  of  men  on  the 
rolls  who  never  did  any  real  active  service  during  the  war;  nev 
ertheless,  they  are  getting  the  same  pension,  in  some  instances 
more,  than  what  is  being  paid  to  men  who  went  through  the  en 
tire  war.  But,  their  object  was  a  good  one.  They  took  the  oath 
and  were  subject  to  the  conditions  of  the  hour  and  yet  there 
will  be  grumbling  and  growling  as  long  as  a  Union  Soldier  lives. 
Much  has  been  said  about  the  characteristics  of  different  mem 
bers  of  the  regiment.  It  might  be  well  to  quote  the  following: 

"There  is  so  much  good  in  the  worst  of  us, 
And  so  much  bad  in  the  best  of  us, 
That  it  hardly  becomes  any  of  us 
To  talk  about  the  rest  of  us." 

I  will  quote  one  verse  from  an  original  poem  by  Dr.  John  Clark 
Ridpath. 

"On  old  Cedar  Mountain's   side, 

By  Rappahannock's  tide 
At  Antietam's  bloody  bridge, 

On  the  Cemetery  Ridge, 
From  the  Tennessee's  red  banks, 

Hard  on  Johnston's  broken  flanks, 
To  Atlanta's  walls  and  through, 

Marched  the  men  that  wore  the  blue." 

54 


In  answer  to  a  letter  from  me,  the  Adjutant  General  of  Ohio, 
February  1/j.th,  1906,  says:  "Report  of  the  Adjutant  General  of 
Ohio  for  the  year  1864  shows  that  127  members  of  the  5th  O.  V. 
I.  re-enlisted  as  Veteran  Volunteers.  The  Veteran  Credit  Rec 
ord  bears  the  names  of  131  men,  which  is  probably  nearer  cor 
rect." 

I  have  been  unable  to  secure  the  exact  number  that  did  not  vet 
eranize,  but  statements  received  from  many  of  my  comrades  all 
declare  that  the  number  that  did  veteranize  was  nearer  231  than 
— as  the  Adjutant  General  has  it — only  131. 

I  have  written  my  own  personal  recollections,  and  no  one's  else. 
I  am  fully  aware  that  no  three  witnesses  ever  agreed  on  all  the 
details  of  the  operations  of  any  particular  affair.  To  bear  me  out 
in  this  assertion,  I  quote  right  here  something  General  Sher 
man  says  in  his  memoirs :  "In  this  free  Country,  every  man  is  at 
perfect  liberty  to  publish  his  own  thoughts  and  impressions,  and 
every  witness  who  may  differ  from  me,  should  publish  his  own 
version  of  facts  in  a  truthful  narration,  in  which  he  is  inter 
ested." 

I  gratefully  acknowledge  favors  from  those  who  have  so 
kindly  refreshened  dim  spots  in  my  memory  of  those  long  past 
days  and  take  pleasure  in  naming  among  them  Captain  Stephen 
Coddington,  Captain  Alex.  Mott,  Captain  Joseph  L.  Gaul,  Lieu 
tenant  Timmons,  Major  Gaskill,  Comrade  William  H.  Knight, 
Comrade  John  B.  Hoffman,  Colonel  Charles  Candy,  66th  O.  V.  I. 

The  preceeding  pages  are  to  be  taken  as  personal  recollections 
of  a  part  of  my  experiences  and  observations  as  a  soldier  of  the 
United  States  during  the  War  of  the  Rebellion. 

In  reviewing  these  years  of  the  past,  I  see  where  many  acts 
of  mine  might  have  been  improved  upon  at  the  time,  but  what 
was  done  by  me  then,  was  done  with  the  best  of  motives  and  with 
honest  intentions. 

Many  opportunities  for  advancement  in  other  departments 
were  presented  to  me  and  that  I  declined  to  further  my  interests 
by  accepting  any  one  of  them,  was  due  solely  to  my  reluctance 
to  sever  my  relations  with  the  men  with  whom  I  had  entered  the 
service  and  with  whom  I  earnestly  desired  to  associate  until  the 
time  of  enlistment  was  ended. 

To  the  memory  of  those  old  comrades  who  have  answered  to 
the  "last  call",  I  give  a  loving  thought.  My  surviving  com 
rades,  I  hold  in  grateful  remembrance.  Those  days  of  strife, 

55 


of  suffering,  with  here  and  there  even  bright  spots  of  jovial  com 
panionship  and  happy  experiences,  are  green  spots  in  Memory's 
fields.  To  these  old  comrades,  I  give  the  hope  that  Providence 
in  His  mercy  will  grant  them  yet  many  years  of  health  and  hap 
piness. 

As  an  after-thought,  and  for  the  benefit  of  such  of  my  old 
comrades  who  might  not  have  had  access  to  the  original  pub 
lication  I  here  include  the  report  of  the  record  made  by  the  Fifth 
Ohio  Infantry,  during  its  service.  This  record  is  taken  from  the 
book  published  by  Wm.  F.  Fox,  Lieutenant  Col.  U.  S.  V.,  in 
1888,  entitled,  "Regimental  Losses  in  the  American  Civil  War," 
and  found  on  page  311,  under  the  sub-title  of  "Three  hundred 
Fighting  Regiments."  The  record  is  especially  full  and  com 
plete.  It  is  as  follows: 

FIFTH  OHIO  INFANTRY 
Candy's  Brigade — Geary's  Division — Twelfth  Corps 

(1 )  Col.  Samuel  H.  Dunning  (2)  Col.  John  H.  Patrick  (3)  Col.  Robert  Kirkup 

(Killed) 


Companies 

Killed  and  Died  of  Wounds 

Died  of  Disease,  Accidents 
in  Prison,  etc. 

Total 

Enroll 
ment 

Officers 

Men 

Total 

Officers 

Men 

Total 

Field  and  Staff.  . 
Company  A 

3 

1 

1 

15, 
7 

4 
15 
8 

1 

7 
3 

1 
7 
3 

16 

228 
181 

B  

C  

1 

15 

16 

8 

8 

180 

D..... 

20 

20 

6 

6 

135 

E  

2 

18 

20 

1 

7 

7 

197 

F  

14 

14 

7 

7 

173 

G  

1 

12 

13 

4 

4 

199 

H  

12 

12 

5 

5 

152 

I  

13 

13 

5 

5 

103 

K  
Totals  

1 

10 

11 

3 

3 

190 

9 

137 

146 

2 

55 

57 

1751 

Total  of  Killed  and  Wounded  537 
Of  the  914  originally  enrolled,  129  were  killed  or  13.7  per  cent 

56 


Battles  K.  &  M.  W. 

Scouting  party,  Va.  Sept.  16,  1861 I 

Romney,  W.  Va 2 

Kernstown,    Va 23 

Port  Republic,   Va 13 

Cedar  Mountain,   Va 31 

Antietam,    Md 16 

Dumfries,   Va 3 

Chancellorsville,   Va 15 

Gettysburg,   Pa 5 

Culpepper  C.  H.  Va I 

Dalton,    Ga I 

Resaca,  Ga 5 

New  Hope  Church,  Ga 15 

Pine  Knob,  Ga I 

Kennesaw  Mountain,  Ga 4 

Peach  Tree  Creek,  Ga 4 

Siege  of  Atlanta,  Ga 5 

North  Edisto,  S.  C I 

Present  also  at  Lookout  Mountain,  Tenn. ;  Rocky  Face  Ridge, 
Ga. ;  Gulp's  Farm,  Ga. ;  Siege  of  Savannah ;  Bentonville,  N.  C. ; 
The  March  to  the  Sea ;  The  Carolinas. 

NOTES. — Recruited  in  April,  1861,  for  three  months  service, 
but  before  the  regiment  was  fully  organized  and  equipped,  the 
call  for  three-years  men  was  made,  whereupon  it  volunteered 
for  three  years  and  was  mustered  in  on  the  2ist  of  June.  It 
served  in  West  Virginia  until  March,  1862,  when  it  moved  with 
Shield's  Division  up  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  and  participated 
in  the  battle  of  Kernstown,  where  it  lost  18  killed,  and  32 
wounded;  also,  at  Port  Republic,  where  it  lost  4  killed,  63 
wounded,  and  197  captured  or  missing.  At  Cedar  Mountain,  it 
fought  in  Geary's  Brigade,  Augur's  Division,  with  a  loss  of  14 
killed,  104  wounded,  and  4  missing,  out  of  275  engaged.  At 
Antietam  it  was  in  Tyndale's  (ist)  Brigade,  Greene's  (2d)  Di 
vision,  Twelfth  Corps;  loss,  n  killed,  35  wounded,  and  2  miss 
ing.  At  Chancellorsville,  then  in  Candy's  Brigade,  it  lost  6 
killed,  52  wounded,  and  24  missing;  and  at  Gettysburg,  2  killed 
and  1 6  wounded.  In  September,  1863,  the  regiment  accom 
panied  the  Twelfth  Corps  to  Tennessee,  where  it  reenforced 
the  Army  at  Chattanooga,  and  fought  at  Lookout  Mountain. 

57 


In  April,  1864,  the  Twelfth  Corps,  was  combined  with  part  of  the 
Eleventh  Corps  and  renumbered,  becoming  the  Twentieth,  but 
the  regiment  still  remained  in  Geary's  Division,  and  the  men 
still  wore  the  white  stars  on  their  caps.  The  Fifth  was  present  at 
the  hard  fighting  of  the  Atlanta  Campaign,  during  which  Colonel 
Patrick  was  killed,  at  the  battle  of  New  Hope  Church,  and  Major 
Henry  E.  Symmes  fell  mortally  wounded  at  Kennesaw. 


58 


STATE  OF  OHIO 
ADJUTANT  GENERAL'S  DEPARTMENT. 

COLUMBUS,  March  5,  1906. 

THIS  is  To  CERTIFY  that  it  is  shown  by  the  official  record  of 
this  office,  of  which  I  am  the  lawful  custodian,  that  John  M. 
Paver  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  was  commissioned  by  the  Governor 
of  Ohio  Second  Lieutenant  in  the  Fifth  Regiment,  O.  V.  I.  July 
15,  1861,  to  rank  from  June  n,  1861,  to  fill  an  original  vacancy. 

Commissioned  by  the  same  authority  First  Lieutenant,  same 
regiment,  May  29,  1862,  to  rank  from  April  26,  1862,  vice 
Lewis  C.  Robinson,  promoted  to  captain,  same  regiment,  May 
29,  1862,  to  rank  from  April  26,  1862,  vice  Jacob  Romley, 
resigned  April  27,  1862. 

Commissioned  by  the  same  authority  Captain  in  the  same  regi 
ment  March  3,  1864,  to  rank  from  March  3,  1864,  vice  Ben  J. 
Jelliff,  Jr.,  resigned,  January  30,  1864.  John  M.  Paver  declined 
captain's  commission  and  was  mustered  out  as  First  Lieutenant 
and  Regimental  Quartermaster,  July  4,  1864,  by  reason  of  end 
of  term  of  service. 

O.  H.  HUGHES, 
Adjutant  General  of  Ohio. 


59 


TRANSCRIPT  FROM  THE  WAR  DEPARTMENT,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 
JOHN  M.  PAVER. 

Entered  service 'as  private  and  mustered  in  as  2nd  Lieutenant, 
Co.  C,  5th  Ohio  Vol.  Infantry,  April  19,  1861. 

Regiment  organized  at  Camp  Harrison  near  Cincinnati,  Ohio 
for  three  months  service,  and  mustered  in  May  8,  1861. 

Moved  to  Camp  Dennison  May  23,  and  on  duty  there  until  July 
10. 

Regiment  reorganized  for  three  years  service  at  Camp  Denni 
son  and  recommissioned  as  2nd  Lieut.  Co.  C,  June  19,  1861. 

Promoted  to  ist  Lieut.  April  26,  1862. 

Regimental  Quartermaster,  June  23,  1863. 

Left  State  with  Regiment  under  orders  for  West  Virginia, 
July  10,  1861. 

Duty  at  Grafton,  Clarksburg,  Oakland  and  Parkersburg,  W. 
Va.,  until  Aug.  5th. 

Attached  to  Kelly's  Command,  W.  Va.,  Aug.  1861  to  March 
1862. 

2-Brig.  Shields'  2-Div.  Banks  5-Corps  to  April,  1862. 

3-Brig.  i-Div.  of  the  Rappahannock  to  June,  1862. 

2-Brig.  i-Div.  2-Corps  Army  of  Va.  to  July  and  i-Brig. 
2-Corps  Army  of  Va.  to  Sept.,  1862. 

i-Brig.  2-Div.  12-Corps  Army  of  the  Potomac  and  Army 
of  the  Cumberland  to  April,  1864. 

i-Brig.  2-Div.  2O-Corps  Army  of  Ga.  to  July,  1864. 

SERVICE. 

Duty  at  Buckhannon,  W.  Va.,  until  Nov.  3,  1861.     Action  at 
French  Creek  Nov.  3,  Picket  duty  near  Romney  until  Jany.,  1862. 
Action  near  Romney  Dec.  8,  1861. 
Expedition  to  Blue's  Gap,  Jany.  6-7,  1862. 
Blue's  Camp,  Jany.  7. 

60 


Reconn.  to  Bloomery  Furnace  Feby.  12. 
Advance  on  Winchester  March  7-15. 
Reconn.  to  Strassburg  March  18-21. 
Battle  of  Winchester  March  22-23. 
Edenburg  April  I. 
New  Market  April  17. 

March  to  Fredericksburg  May  12-21,  and  to  Port  Republic 
May  25-June  7. 

Front  Royal  May  30-31,  Battle  of  Port  Republic  June  9. 

Battle  of  Cedar  Mountain  Aug.  9. 

Pope's  Virginia  Campaign  Sept.  2. 

Rappahannock  River  Aug.  21-25. 

White  Sulphur  Springs  Aug.  26. 

Gainesville  Aug.  28,  Groveton  Aug.  29. 

Battle  of  Bull  Run  Aug.  30. 

Battle  of  South  Mountain,  Md.  Sept.  14. 

Battle  of  Antietam,  Md.  Sept.  16-17. 

Duty  at  Boliver  Heights  until  Dec. 

Reconn.  to  Lovettsville,  Oct.  21. 

Reconn.  to  Winchester,  Dec.  6-7. 

Skirmish  at  Charlestown  Dec.  6. 

Dumfries,  Dec.  27. 

Burnside's  2nd  Campaign,  "Mud  March"  Jany.  20-24,  1863. 

Chancellorsville  Campaign  April  27-May  6,   1863. 

Battle  of  Chancellorsville,  May  1-5. 

Battle  of  Gettysburg,  Pa.  July  1-14. 

Pursuit  of  Lee  to  Manassas  Gap,  Va.  July  6-24. 

Duty  at  New  York  City,  Aug.  i6-Sept.  8. 

Movement  to  Bridgeport,  Ala.  Sept.  26-Oct.  4. 

Battle  of  Wauhatchie,  Oct.  28-29. 

Battles  of  Chattanooga,  Nov.  23-25. 

Lookout  Mountain  Nov.  23-24. 

Mission  Ridge  Nov.  25. 

Ringgold,  Ga.  Nov.  27. 

Atlanta  Campaign  May  to  July,  1864. 

Movements  of  Dalton  May  5-9. 

Action  at  Dug  Gap,  May  8. 

Rocky  Faced  Ridge,  May  8-n. 

Battle  of  Resaca,  May  13-15. 

Adairsville,  May  17-18. 

Cassville  May  19-22. 

61 


New  Hope  Church  May  25. 

Battles  about  Dallas,  Pumpkin  Vine  Creek  and  Allantoona 
Hills  May  26- June  5. 

OPERATIONS  ABOUT  MARIETTA  AND  AGAINST  KENNESAW  MOUN 
TAIN  JUNE  9-JuLY  i. 

Pine  Hill  June  11-14. 
Lost  Mountain  June  15-17. 
Gilgal  or  Golgotha  Church  June  15. 
Muddy  Creek  June  17. 
Noves  Creek  June  19. 
Assault  on  Kennesaw  June  27. 

Mustered  out  July  4,  1864,  expiration  of  term  and  honorable 
discharge  from  service. 


62 


ADDRESS  DELIVERED  AT  THE  REUNION  OF  THE  STH  O.  V.  INFAN 
TRY,  CINCINNATI,  OHIO,  SEPTEMBER  8,  1898. 


It  is  impossible  for  me  to  indulge  in  any  flowery  language  or 
make  any  pretensions  to  gifted  rhetoric.  I  can  speak  to  you  only 
as  one  of  you.  I  can  speak  to  you  upon  matters  and  things  that 
are  vivid  in  the  minds  of  us  all.  I  claim  nothing,  other  than 
being  a  Comrade.  One  who  has  shared  with  you  the  hardships 
and  dangers ;  who  has  "drank  from  the  same  canteen/'  and  slept 
under  the  same  blanket. 

This  occasion  vividly  revives  the  past  and  it  rises  before  me 
like  a  dream.  A  panorama  in  the  brain  unrolls,  and  I  see  again 
all  the  glitter  and  pomp  and  glory  of  war;  all  its  horrors,  its 
misery  and  sorrows  and  yet,  withal,  on  an  occasion  like  this, 
comes  a  spirit  of  enthusiasm.  To  me,  the  history  of  the  war  is 
an  absorbing  study.  I  have  many  volumes  upon  the  subject, 
but  Ohio's  Roster  attracts  my  particular  attention.  This,  my 
favorite  volume,  contains  the  names  of  the  members  of  my  regi 
ment.  As  I  turn  leaf  after  leaf,  I  see  there  the  names  of  school 
boy  friends,  who  also  answered  to  the  Nation's  call.  Many  came 
not  back.  Over  many  of  those  that  did  return,  "Taps"  have  been 
sounded.  Time  seems  to  have  dealt  kindly  with  those  of  us  who 
still  answer  to  roll-call,  and  although  Time's  frost  is  on  some 
heads,  some  eyes  dimmer  and  feet  slower,  yet,  the  hearts  are 
young,  especially  on  an  occasion  like  this. 

I  was  a  young  man  when  the  "Evil  days  came"  upon  us;  I 
remember  well  that  the  State  of  Ohio  had  no  organized  military 
law  or  system  at  that  time.  There  were  a  few  militia  organiza 
tions  in  our  city.  However,  they  were  upon  an  individual  or 
company  basis.  When  Sumter's  Guns  were  heard  in  protest, 
the  War  Spirit  invaded  the  home  of  every  citizen  of  the  State, 
and  the  result  is  known  to  the  survivors  of  those  stormy  days. 

In  the  organization  of  our  regiment,  we  had  the  benefit  of  a 
wide  selection.  We  had  the  youth  and  the  vigor  of  the  land. 

63 


We  had  the  sturdy,  rugged  and  vigorous  farmer's  boy;  the  la 
borer  from  his  axe ;  the  mechanic  from  his  bench ;  the  clerk  from 
his  desk ;  the  business  man  from  his  office ;  the  professor,  the  doc 
tor,  the  lawyer  and  the  minister  of  the  gospel. 

About  the  time  of  the  breaking  out  of  the  Rebellion,  there 
was  a  temporary  organization  of  young  men,  ranging  in  age 
from  eighteen  to  twenty-two,  brought  together  more  for  social 
purposes  than  otherwise.  These  companies  had  paraded  once 
or  twice  through  the  streets  of  Cincinnati,  and  their  so-called 
uniform,  at  the  time,  was  looked  upon  with  curiosity ;  their  three- 
cornered  hats;  their  three-buttoned  cut-aways — impromptu  style, 
and  trimmed  with  buff  colored  muslin,  their  white  wigs,  their 
pants  tucked  in  their  boots:  carrying  guns  and  cartridge  boxes , 
but  no  knap-sacks,  and  were  looked  upon  then  as  fair  represen 
tatives  of  the  Continental  Soldier  of  1776.  If  my  memory  serves 
me  right,  this  was  the  nucleus  of  the  5th  Ohio  Infantry,  and  was 
afterwards  designated  as  companies  "A,"  "E"  and  "K." 

The  next  distinguishing  feature  of  our  regiment  was  the  ap 
pearance  in  Camp  of  two  companies  whose  basis  of  organiza 
tion  was  noticeable  by  an  occasional  appearance  in  their  gaudy 
highland  costumes,  entailing  a  provoking  exhibit  of  naked 
knees — representative  men  from  the  land  of  Burns  and  Bruce. 
This  exposure  of  bare  skin  was,  however,  short-lived.  Uncle 
Sam  had  dictated  the  costume,  and  all  fancy  trappings  were  laid 
aside  for  more  durable  uniforms.  These  Highlanders  became 
a  part  of  Companies  "B"  and  "D."  The  next  organization  which 
is  worthy  of  some  particular  mention  was  the  child  of  a  parent 
organization,  which  had  gone  forward  under  the  first  call  of  the 
President  to  Washington,  with  the  2nd  Ohio  Infantry.  I  refer 
to  the  2nd  company  of  Zouaves  and  known  in  our  regiment  as 
Company  "G." 

I  recall  our  first  march  of  recruits  to  Camp  Harrison.  How 
amusing  was  the  miscellaneous  apparel  of  the  boys,  and  particu 
larly  the  ridiculous  caricature  of  myself  wearing  a  half  faded 
military  coat  that  had  been  worn  by  a  member  of  the  old  Guards, 
whose  weight  was  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  and 
whose  rotundity  of  body  was  in  keeping  with  his  weight,  and  I, 
a  mere  youth  of  twenty-two,  trying  to  impersonate  a  soldier  of 
such  magnitude.  With  me  on  that  dusty  pike  marched  a  man 
at  the  head  of  our  company  whose  sterling  qualities,  bravery, 
and  heroism  can  never  be  questioned.  An  ideal  soldier,  irascible 

64 


at  times,  a  model  on  march,  never  shirking  duty  or  sparing  him 
self  any  exposure,  and  in  battle  whose  cool,  calm  and  deliberate 
actions  won  for  him  the  confidence  of  all.  It  is  probably  un 
necessary  for  me  to  mention  the  name  as  you  will  readily  call  to 
mind  the  fearless  and  intrepid  Captain  Symmes  of  Company 
"C,"  now  sleeping  the  "sleep  that  knows  no  waking." 

Let  us  look  still  farther,  and  here  is  another  detachment.  Like 
its  parent,  it  also  was  on  the  march  to  Washington,  and  this  is 
the  second  Company  of  the  Cincinnati  Zouaves,  with  Horton, 
Booth  and  Moore  in  command.  They  were  afterwards  assigned 
to  Company  "G." 

The  next  organization  was  a  company  of  printers  from  the 
different  printing  offices  of  the  city,  headed  by  Collins,  Arm 
strong,  and  Timmons,  making  Company  "I."  Company  "H", 
led  by  Captain  Fletcher,  was  a  miscellaneous  company.  The  avo 
cation  of  many  had  been  upon  the  water  crafts  and  as  employees 
of  hotels.  Company  "F"  was  made  up  mostly  of  young  men  from 
the  west  end  of  Cincinnati  from  the  brick  yards,  and  draymen 
and  clerks,  led  by  Captain  Gaines.  Now,  this  little  synopsis  will 
refresh  your  minds  as  to  the  general  makeup  of  our  regiment. 
This  miscellaneous  organization  went  into  camp  April  20,  1861, 
formed  its  regimental  organization  and  mustered  into  service 
May  9,  1861,  to  date  from  April  2Oth,  for  three  months.  Then 
came  the  call  for  three  years'  enlistment  and  the  result  of  this  was 
that  on  June  iQth  we  were  mustered  in  for  three  years.  On 
July  10,  1861,  we  left  Camp  Dennison  for  the  seat  of  war  in  West 
Virginia.  Our  experiences  were  varied.  Some  were  hazardous, 
and  all  were  tedious  and  tiresome,  tramping  around  after  bush 
whackers  until  the  movement  was  made  eastward  and  the  ad 
vancement  in  the  spring  of  1862  brought  more  activity,  more  or 
ganized  methods  in  the  art  of  war. 

The  concentration  of  troops  in  the  spring  of  1862 ;  the  advance 
on  Winchester  in  March ;  the  reconnoissance  of  Strassburg  and 
the  ultimate  battle  of  Winchester  March  23,  need  no  reminder 
from  me.  The  march  to  Newmarket  in  April,  Fredericksburg 
in  May  and  the  battle  of  Port  Republic  on  June  9 ;  the  retrograde 
movement  through  Luray  Valley  to  the  Plains  of  Manassas, 
Pope's  Campaign,  Second  Bull  Run,  battle  of  Antietam,  Bolivar 
Heights  and  finally  landing  at  Dumfries  in  December,  1862,  for 
winter  quarters  ended  an  eventful  year  in  our  experience. 

The  year  1863  opened  with  great  preparations  and  a  determina- 

65 


tion  to  reach  Richmond  by  the  rear,  under  General  Hooker. 
The  campaign  opened  the  latter  part  of  April,  1863 — the  advance 
commenced  immediately,  and  those  survivors  who  are  present 
will  never  forget  our  experience  at  Chancellorsville  from  May 
ist  to  5th ;  then  came  our  return  to  the  north  side  of  the  Rappa- 
hannock  river ;  our  chase  to  the  fortifications  of  Washington  and 
the  flanking  at  Gettysburg  and  afterwards  the  pursuit  of  General 
Lee  to  the  Plains  of  Manassas. 

At  this  point  our  base  of  operations  was  unexpectedly  changed 
from  the  dreary,  down-trodden  soil  of  Virginia  to  the  beautiful 
waters  of  the  Chesapeake  and  the  mighty,  rolling  Atlantic,  until 
we  reached  the  great  city  of  New  York,  or  rather  Governors 
Island,  where  we  had  been  ordered  to  hold  ourselves  in  readiness 
to  suppress  a  riot.  This  stay  at  New  York  was  a  great  treat  to 
us.  We,  who  had  weathered  many  a  storm,  and  lived  on  army 
rations,  to  be  thrown  so  suddenly  in  the  midst  of  such  luxuries, 
was  too  much  for  us  to  withstand  long.  We  were  on  this  duty 
from  August  15,  to  September  8,  returning  to  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  shortly  after  September  loth.  On  September  26th,  our 
movement  commenced  to  Bridgeport,  Alabama.  Sixty  days  from 
the  time  we  landed  on  Governors  Island,  we  were  in  the  Wau- 
hatchie  Tennessee  Valley,  engaging  the  enemy.  This  entailed  a 
long  trip  by  rail  through  many  states.  We  were  skipped  past  in 
the  very  sight  of  our  homes  without  the  permission  of  at  least 
saying  a  word  to  our  friends  and  our  parents,  and  struck  the  on 
ward  movement  and  engaged  in  the  attack  on  Lookout  Mountain, 
November  23  to  25. 

Of  our  winter  quarters  at  Bridgeport;  the  veteranizing  of  a 
portion  of  our  regiment;  the  Atlantic  Campaign  from  May  to 
July;  the  battles  about  Dallas,  Pumpkin  Vine  Creek,  Marietta, 
Kenesaw  Mountain,  and  finally  the  return  of  the  non-veterans 
from  Big  Shanty,  Georgia,  all  of  this  undoubtedly  remains  perma 
nently  established  in  your  minds.  At  this  point  of  my  reminis 
cences  I  must  stop  and  leave  the  remainder  of  our  regiment's 
service  to  the  care  of  some  other  member  to  complete,  as,  on 
July  4th,  1864,  I  once  more  donned  citizen's  clothes. 

It  is  very  gratifying  to  me  to  know  that  I  am  speaking  to  many 
of  my  schoolboy  companions,  who  will  today  call  again  to  mind 
the  exciting  times  of  the  first  enlistments.  Enlistment  scenes  are 
usually  pictured  with  considerable  enthusiasm,  but  with  me,  I 
must  confess,  that  time  was  a  little  mixed.  What  a  change  has 

66 


taken  place. — The  boys  of  '61,  light,  active  and  merry,  are  today 
the  middle-aged  and  old  men  of  '98.  God  in  his  manifold  kind 
ness  has  dealt  kindly  with  many  of  us.  Comrades,  it  is  a  source 
of  extreme  pleasure  to  me  to  be  able  to  be  with  you  here  today. 
Thirty-eight  years  have  passed  since  the  commencement  of  the 
deadly  strife. 

To  many  of  you,  whom  I  have  not  seen  before  for  many  years, 
I  desire  to  express  myself  in  most  exalted  terms,  of  your  service 
in  the  late  war,  and  renew  my  pledge  to  you  as  a  comrade.  To 
those  whom  I  have  seen  more  frequently,  my  pledge  of  loyalty 
has  been  renewed  time  and  time  again. 

I  rejoice  that  those  who  are  here  today  have  been  spared.  I 
rejoice  that  it  has  been  my  pleasure  to  renew  acquaintance  with 
many  of  those  whom  I  have  not  seen  for  years  and  re-establish 
that  old  friendship,  so  dear  to  my  heart.  You  and  I  can  say 
truthfully,  it  was  not  a  question  of  dollars  and  cents  with  us  to 
enter  the  service.  It  was  a  question  of  loyalty  to,  and  mainte 
nance  of,  the  principles  of  our  government. 

Some  of  the  older  members  left  families  of  dependent  little 
children.  It  was  not  the  paltry  soldier's  pay  that  you  were  seek 
ing.  There  were  no  riches  in  sight  in  this  enterprise.  And 
what  was  the  result?  Many  of  our  poor  comrades  were  left  on 
Southern  Battlefields;  many  came  back  maimed  in  body,  broken 
in  health.  And  now,  after  all  these  years,  we  come  and  ask  our 
government  to  make  some  fitting  recompense  in  these,  our  last 
days.  Why  is  not  the  fact  that  our  names  appear  upon  the  Mus 
ter  Rolls  of  our  country,  a  sufficient  guarantee  that  we  are  en 
titled  to  a  grateful  consideration  ?  Are  we  to  run  the  gauntlet  of 
criticising  boards ;  skeptical  physicians — men  who  are  not  in  a 
position  to  know  the  proper  ailments  of  the  applicant?  Why  are 
we  compelled  to  scour  the  country  from  ocean  to  ocean  to  secure 
some  missing  link  or  thread  in  our  lives,  to  verify  our  demands 
for  pensions?  I  say  to  you,  comrades,  this  is  ungrateful.  Our 
records  are  shown  by  our  Muster  Rolls ;  our  term  of  service  is 
prima  facie  evidence,  calling  for  at  least  an  honorable  protection 
in  the  way  of  sufficient  consideration  from  the  mighty  nabobs 
who  sit  on  their  thrones  in  Washington.  These  are  cold  facts, 
my  Comrades,  yet  I  have  no  delicacy  in  making  known  upon  what 
foundation  I  take  my  stand.  The  men  who  left  their  homes  in 
the  defense  of  the  government,  should  have  the  protection  of  that 
government ;  should  be  compensated  by  amounts  of  sufficient  size, 

67 


a  full  appreciation  of  their  services.  And  how  was  it  after  the 
muster  out?  We  were  turned  adrift  to  commence  life  anew. 
We  spent  some  of  the  golden  days  of  our  lives,  standing  up  to  be 
shot  at  for  our  Country's  Cause,  not  for  the  pitiful  sum  called 
"soldiers'  pay,"  and  now,  in  our  declining  years,  we  are  appealing 
to  our  government  for  some  fitting  recompense.  For  many  years 
after  the  war,  I  confess  I  had  pronounced  ideas  as  to  what  should 
be  the  basis  of  a  pension,  and,  while  my  opinion  was  then  of  a 
rather  cold  and  rigid  nature,  I  stand  here  today  and  say  to  you 
that  the  temper  has  been  taken  out  of  me  and  I  am  a  convert  to 
the  pensioning  of  all  old  soldiers,  according  to  their  several  dis 
abilities.  In  my  judgment,  there  is  not  a  comrade  here  today 
but  who  has  a  good  claim,  if  he  will  only  prosecute  it. 

Much  has  been  said  of  the  validity  of  pension  claims.  A  claim 
once  adjudicated  is  valid  and  all  the  courts  of  our  land  have  sup 
ported  it. 

Before  I  close,  I  desire  to  compliment  the  members  who  have 
had  this  Reunion  in  charge.  One  thing  that  I  regret,  as  I  know 
you  do  also,  is  that  we  have  not  with  us  today  many  comrades 
who  were  recognized  as  staunch,  reliable  and  brave  men  during 
the  trying  times  of  our  Army  life. 

So  then,  on  this  occasion  with  us,  "let  joy  be  unconfmed."  On 
with  the  festivities.  No  sleep  until  each  participant  around  this 
festive  board  is  given  an  opportunity  to  vent  his  feelings ;  to  give 
some  personal  experience  during  his  service  as  a  member  of  this 
organization. 

Let  no  heavy  sound  of  snoring  men  or  imaginary  cannonading 
disturb  our  pleasure.  No  mountings  of  fiery  steeds,  no  rapid  form 
ing  of  battle  lines,  no  beating  of  alarming  drums,  no  cracking  of 
musketry  on  the  skirmish  line  to  mar  our  pleasure.  We  do  not 
fear  marching  orders,  unless  we  get  too  boisterous,  and  then,  our 
good  friend,  Colonel  Deitch,  the  chief  of  police,  will  see  that  we 
are  "treated  with  leniency"  and  kindly  dealt  with. 

Thanking  you  for  your  attention,  Comrades,  I  extend  to  you 
the  right  hand  of  Comradeship,  and  hope  that  for  the  remaining 
few  years  of  life,  our  happiness  may  be  two-fold.  I  wish  to  close 
my  remarks  by  reading  the  lines  of  a  writer  unknown  to  me,  en 
titled: 

68 


THAT  RARE  OLD  LAUGH. 


Where  is  your  happy  laugh,  comrades, 

That  used  to  ring  out  so  free  ? 
Somehow,  my  ears  ache  for  it, 

As  I  heard  it  in  eighteen  sixty-three; 
You  smile  on  me  such  a  mournful  smile, 

And  chuckle  so  faint  and  low, 
Your  laugh  is  only  the  ghost  of  the  laugh 

That  you  laughed  so  long  ago. 

Your  hair  was  black  as  the  beetle's  wing, 

And  your  voices  were  brave  and  strong ; 
And  whether  the  battle  was  fierce  and  wild, 

Or  the  march  was  hard  and  long, 
That  old  laugh  of  yours  would  ring, 

When  a  comrade  needed  cheer, 
And  shake  the  wrinkles  of  care  out  smooth, 

With  its  echoes  glad  and  clear. 

When  rations  were  short  and  springs  were  dry, 

And  your  tongue  was  swollen  thick, 
I've  heard  your  cheery  old  laugh  ring  high, 

Coming  down  on  the  double  quick, 
Along  the  lines  ran  a  thrill  of  joy, 

With  answering  laugh  and  shout ; 
For  the  boys  caught  on  to  the  anchor  of  hope, 

Whenever  your  laugh  rang  out. 

You  laughed  when  you  hobbled  back  to  us, 

With  gun  and  bandage  and  sling, 
"To  bind  two  wounds  at  once," 

"Was  a  wonderful  sort  of  thing." 
I  can  hear  you  call  when  the  ague  froze, 

Or  the  fever  burned  your  brow ; 
"It's  no  trick  to  be  cool,  or  task  to  get  warm, 

If  you  only  just  know  how." 

69 


But  where  has  your  old  laugh  gone,  my  comrades, 

And  why  has  it  died  away? 
I  knew  that  you  must  be  bent  and  old, 

And  your  hair  and  beard  gray, 
But  the  old  laugh  that  you  used  to  laugh, 

I  had  thought  to  hear  ring  out 
From  your  old  lips  till  my  soul  would  stand 

Tiptoe  on  the  hills  and  shout. 

Subdued  and  saddened  and  softened  down 

By  the  stress  of  our  social  ways, 
Your  laugh  is  timed  to  the  steps  of  age, 

Not  the  marches  of  former  days ; 
Its  bugle  calls  to  the  double  quick 

Shall  never  be  heard  again ; 
Tis  now  the  treble  of  "Soldier's  Rest" 

Not  the  Marseillaise  of  men. 

But  let  us  remember  the  laughs  of  old, 

And  remember  the  comrades  strong, 
And  shake  hands  with  a  right  good-will, 

As  we  join  in  story  and  song; 
For  the  war,  and  the  boys  and  the  deeds  will  soon 

Be  but  memory,  history,  love, 
But  we'll  be  friends  till  the  bugle  sounds 

To  join  in  the  ranks  above. 

And  there,  in  that  happy  world,  somewhere, 

Sometime,  when  the  winds  are  low, 
And  we  can  hear  back  in  the  far-away, 

Sweet  sounds  that  we  used  to  know, 
I  think  we  shall  hear  your  old  laugh 

Ring  o'er  the  golden  bars 
Till  we  shall  lean  on  the  hills  and  shout, 

"Three  cheers  for  the  stripes  and  stars." 


70 


ADDRESS  AT  NATIONAL  MILITARY   HOME,  DAYTON,   OHIO, 
TO  ENCAMPMENT  UNION  VETERAN  LEGION, 

January,  1895. 
Comrades : — 

Usually  under  such  circumstances  as  these  and  in  accordance 
with  the  Ritual  of  our  order,  the  Installing  Officer  is  expected  to 
make  some  remarks.  It  is  reasonable  to  expect  the  remarks  to 
be  in  sympathy  with  the  surrounding  circumstances.  If  I  had 
been  invited  to  address  an  assembly  of  theological  students,  or  to 
speak  at  a  political  meeting,  or  to  take  part  in  a  debate  on  the 
merits  of  some  scientific  problem,  I  certainly  would  have  de 
clined  such  an  invitation;  but,  as  I  am  to  make  some  remarks 
where  my  audience  is  composed  of  comrades  of  the  Union  Army, 
and  their  friends,  I  feel  myself  on  familiar  ground,  and  perfectly 
at  home. 

I  receive  many  invitations  to  appear  under  like  circumstances, 
and  when  my  business  will  permit,  I  take  pleasure  in  rendering 
as  much  service  as  I  possibly  can  in  the  performance  of  these  du 
ties.  I  make  no  pretensions  as  a  speaker,  and  crave  your  in 
dulgence. 

Some  ten  years  ago  I  had  the  pleasure  of  visiting  this  Home, 
and  saw  many  of  my  old  comrades.  Today,  in  sorrow,  I  find 
many  of  those  whom  I  met  on  my  first  visit  have  passed  away. 
I  have  visited  the  Homes  at  Milwaukee,  Hampton  and  Marion  in 
the  last  few  years,  and  find  there  comrades  whom  I  met  in  active 
service  during  the  Rebellion.  In  each  of  these  places,  the  old 
soldiers  are  well  provided  for.  At  each  Home  they  have  en 
campments  of  the  Union  Veteran  Legion,  a  part  of  this  grand 
organization  which  numbers  in  the  aggregate  ten  thousand  men. 
The  records  of  those  constituting  this  body  of  Veterans  are  writ 
ten  indelibly  in  the  history  of  this  country.  "Their  deeds  are 
glittering  embellishments  upon  their  banners  that  will  live  for 
ages  to  come.  The  theatre  of  war  lying  within  the  territorial 

71 


boundaries  of  the  several  states,  is  painted  vividly  in  the  minds 
of  its  survivors.  The  records  of  individual  bravery  are  among 
the  archives  of  the  War  Department." 

Every  comrade  that  is  eligible  should  be  a  member  of  this 
great  and  grand  Order.  His  long  service  at  the  front  tested  his 
manhood  and  proved  his  patriotism.  There  should  be  no  strag 
glers.  Our  Army  was  of  the  very  best  material.  Not  a  host  of 
conscripts.  The  insignificant  pay  of  the  soldier  was  no  induce 
ment  to  take  him  to  the  front.  He  was  not  in  search  of  riches. 
He  went  forward  into  the  ranks  because  he  loved  his  country. 
He  loved  his  flag  and  the  principles  that  it  represented.  His 
thoughts  and  aims  were  of  the  broadest  character. 

A  large  percentage  of  our  membership  is  also  members  of  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  Those  who  enlisted  prior  to  July, 
1863,  had  but  the  one  object,  and  that  of  the  preservation  of  the 
Union.  The  Union  Veteran  Legion  does  not  question  the  patriot 
ism  or  bravery  of  those  who  enlisted  subsequent  to  this  date. 
The  tenets  of  our  order  are  Fraternity,  Charity  and  Patriotism. 

Almost  thirty-four  years  have  passed  since  the  volunteers  of 
'61,  '62  and  '63,  full  of  life  and  energy,  splendid  in  manliness, 
perfect  in  physique,  marched  out  in  defense  of  the  Union.  Today 
the  survivors  show  the  weight  of  years.  We  are  "passing  in  re 
view."  The  reviewing  officer  has  been  reached;  the  column  is 
moving  enmasse.  Our  steps  are  shorter.  The  final  halt  will 
soon  come. 

When  the  call  for  troops  was  made,  were  you  asked  to  which 
of  the  great  political  parties  you  belonged  before  you  enlisted? 
No !  At  that  hour,  there  was  but  one  great  party,  and  that  was 
the  party  of  and  for  the  Union.  Democrats  and  Republicans 
vied  with  each  other  in  their  earnestness  in  the  emergency.  Why 
then,  at  this  late  day,  does  there  exist  such  feelings  toward  men 
whose  only  ambition  was  to  save  the  Union?  Why,  then,  does 
the  generation  that  has  grown  up  since,  desire  to  retire  the  "Old 
Soldier?"  I  fear  we  are  getting  to  be  "back  numbers."  I  fear 
that  the  pace  of  the  period  in  which  we  live  is  too  rapid  for  us, 
and  that  we  are  being  relegated  to  the  rear.  We  are  lost  in  the 
foam,  spray  and  mists  of  the  seething  whirlpool  of  the  times. 

A  history  of  the  war  has  never  yet,  and  possibly  never  will  be 
written  that  does  justice  to  all.  Much  has  been  written,  but  the 
historians,  as  a  rule,  write  upon  the  actions  of  certain  organiza 
tions  and  speak  in  extravagant  terms  of  many  prominent  leaders, 

72 


forgetting  those  very  men  whose  valor,  strength  and  heroism 
was  the  fountain-head  of  their  successes.  Heroic  and  daring 
achievements  were  not  confined  to  either  division  of  the  service. 
Officers  were  no  more  fearless,  as  a  rule,  than  the  rank  and  file, 
hence,  a  soldier  whose  service  from  '61  to  '65  was  uninterrupted  is 
certainly  a  veteran  of  the  first  rank.  We  call  to  our  minds  many 
instances,  where  both  officers  and  men,  receiving  very  serious 
wounds  and  recovering  for  the  time,  returned  to  their  command 
and  rendered  additional  valuable  services.  Under  such  circum 
stances,  under  such  suffering,  with  all  the  opportunities  open  for 
his  return  to  civil  life,  he  who  returns  to  his  duty,  with  his 
wounds  still  unhealed,  is,  I  feel  like  saying,  a  hero  of  heroes,  and 
should  I  follow  this  line  of  thought,  I  may  well  say  that  we  have 
in  this  country  regiments  of  heroes  of  the  late  war. 

Soon,  all  living  participants  will  have  answered  the  last  roll  call ; 
the  bugle's  lip  will  have  sounded  for  the  last  time  "Lights  Out ;" 
then  nothing  will  be  left  to  tell  of  the  heroic  conduct  of  the 
Union  Army  but  history.  Let  an  unappreciative  public  stop  and 
look  at  those  tattered  flags  in  our  State  Houses.  Examine  close 
ly  each  regimental  standard  and  therein  is  embodied  a  condensed 
history  of  suffering,  bravery  and  heroic  deeds  of  the  men  who 
have  died  under  their  folds,  and  of  those  who  crept  back  maimed 
and  broken.  It  would  be  a  task  to  obtain  the  history  of  each  and 
every  flag,  but  enough  can  be  seen ;  enough  can  be  read  of  each, 
to  plant  in  the  minds  of  the  generations  to  come,  the  bravery  of 
the  American  Volunteer.  Many  of  those  who  so  proudly  carried 
the  flags  into  battle,  now  sleep  in  unknown  graves  under  southern 
skies. 

We  had  very  few  officers  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  Rebellion 
who  understood  how  to  command  and  how  to  lead  volunteers. 
Our  experience  solved  the  problem  for  all  time  to  come.  I  am  of 
the  opinion  that  the  Volunteer  Army  of  the  future  will  be  the 
National  Guards  of  the  several  states. 

On  the  subject  of  pensions,  I  have  some  opinions,  but  I  will 
not  consume  much  of  your  time  on  that  question.  The  Union 
Volunteer  Legion,  as  an  organization,  is  pledged  to  a  "Service 
Pension"  law,  and  there  is  no  disguising  that  fact.  We  trust 
that  this  statement  will  not  harm  the  sensibilities  of  any  of  our 
comrades  here  who  may  not  be  eligible  to  this  order.  All  that 
we  ask  is  that  the  administration,  present  and  future,  be  liberal. 

And  now  while  I  have  touched  upon  some  thoughts  which  are 

73 


uppermost  in  my  mind,  I  desire  to  say  that  it  should  not  be  con 
strued  that  we  are  unreasonable  in  our  demands,  and  that  those 
who  were  called  to  defend  the  country  in  its  time  of  danger,  and 
now  in  their  decrepitude  or  physical  weakness,  should  in  these 
"piping  times  of  peace,"  share  more  liberally  in  the  golden  pros 
perity  of  their  country.  Can  any  loyal  citizen  take  exception  to 
this? 

It  has  been  my  pleasure  in  the  last  few  years  to  witness  the 
presentation  to  many  of  the  public  schools  of  my  home  city, 
beautiful  flags,  given  with  appropriate  exercises  of  a  patriotic  na 
ture,  I  believe  we  should  cultivate  this  sentiment.  I  believe  that 
an  installing  of  patriotic  sentiments  should  form  a  part  of  every 
school  system.  It  will  be  especially  beneficial  and  lasting  in  its 
influence  on  the  rising  generation.  The  flag  should  be  looked 
upon  as  the  ensign  of  our  country ;  a  symbol  of  perpetual  loyalty 
and  patriotism. 

Now,  comrades,  I  love  the  old  flag,  and  I  say  it  boldly  and 
fearlessly — that  for  America  there  is  but  one  flag  (the  flag  of  our 
forefathers ;  the  flag  of  the  union,  your  flag  and  mine)  that  can 
wave  in  this  country,  and  that  flag  is  the  Star  Spangled  Banner. 
"Is  not  this  emblem  a  prophecy?  Is  not  its  white  stripes  a  proph 
ecy  of  purity  ?  Its  red  the  consecrated  life  blood  so  freely  given  ? 
Its  blue  a  symbol  of  courage  and  faithfulness,  and  its  galaxy  of 
stars  set  on  blue,  as  the  stars  in  heaven,  not  to  be  blotted  out  at 
the  will  of  any  set  of  men  or  of  any  state,  but  to  shine  out  in  all 
their  glory  and  strength,  a  symbol  of  a  united  country?" 

And  now,  Ohio.  What  shall  I  say  about  Ohio?  Being  a  native 
"Buckeye"  I  think  I  can  speak  of  Ohio  without  being  thought 
egotistical.  Yes,  Ohio  had  great  soldiers.  What  Ohioian  that 
visited  the  World's  Fair,  1893,  and  gazed  upon  that  brown  pedes 
tal  in  front  of  the  Ohio  State  Building  could  help  but  feel  some 
inspiration,  feel  proud  that  they  were  native  to  so  grand  a  state 
as  Ohio.  Note  the  embodied  thought  in  this  pedestal,  surmounted 
by  life  sized  figures  of  Grant,  Sherman,  Garfield,  Chase  and  Stan- 
ton,  typifying  as  it  did  the  greatness  of  this  state.  The  thous 
ands  of  people  who  passed  could  not  fail  to  observe  the  gentle 
Cornelia,  standing  as  it  were,  pointing  to  this  galaxy  of  heroes, 
and  the  boldly  carved  letters  that  said,  "Look  ye,  these  are  my 
jewels."  What  a  conception!  What  a  thought,  my  comrades. 

On  the  subject  of  State  Homes,  I  take  great  pleasure  in  say 
ing  that  the  Indiana  State  Legislature,  had,  two  years  ago,  a  bill 

74 


presented  for  the  establishment  of  a  State  Soldiers'  Home  on  the 
cottage  plan.  Comrades  of  the  Grand  Army  and  the  Union  Vet 
eran  Legion  throughout  the  state  worked  together  for  the  passage 
of  this  bill.  The  lower  house  made  an  appropriation  of  $55,000 
to  erect  buildings  and  to  meet  all  the  necessary  expenses  of  a 
beginning.  While  this  amount  was  not  large,  we  thought  it  was 
a  good  start.  The  bill  did  not  reach  the  senate  until  late  in  the 
session.  It  was  not  acted  upon  and  therefore  went  over  until 
this  present  session.  We  are  still  living  in  great  expectation.  We 
expect  an  appropriation  this  time  of  $100,000.  To  show  you 
what  interest  the  Hoosiers  are  taking  in  this  matter,  I  desire  to 
inform  you  that  Tippecanoe  county  and  the  city  of  Lafayette 
have  donated  to  the  authorities,  244  acres  of  land,  lying  on  the 
Wabash  river,  three  and  one-half  miles  northwest  of  the  city, 
The  county  of  Tippecanoe  alone  gives  $5,600  in  cash  as  their 
individual  donation.  The  department  of  Indiana,  G.  A.  R.,  holds 
warranty  deeds  for  the  land.  Posts  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic,  Encampments  of  the  Union  Veteran  Legion,  the  Aux 
iliaries,  Woman's  Relief  Corp  and  very  many  individuals  have 
pledged  themselves  to  donate  cottages  as  soon  as  the  appropria 
tion  is  made.  In  the  aggregate,  from  the  different  sources,  we 
have  twenty-five  cottages  pledged. 

Today  there  are  over  eight  hundred  old  soldiers  either  in  the 
poor  houses,  or  that  are  supported  by  the  township  trustees  in 
the  different  counties  in  the  state.  The  National  Homes  are 
all  overcrowded.  The  government,  because  of  this  condition, 
makes  an  annual  appropriation  of  $100  for  each  soldier  who  is 
an  inmate  of  State  Homes.  There  are  now  eighteen  states  that 
have  established  Soldiers'  Homes.  As  the  years  go  by,  by  reason 
of  age  and  increased  infirmities,  the  numbers  will  grow  larger. 

At  this  point  it  would  be  proper  for  me  to  state  that  the  people 
of  the  South  should  be  commended  for  the  kind,  sympathetic  care 
they  have  shown  towards  the  men  who  fought  under  Lee  and 
Jackson,  Longstreet  and  Johnston,  in  fact,  on  every  field  of  bat 
tle.  The  care  shown  the  destitute  confederate  is  worthy  of  all 
praise  and  the  emulation  of  people  of  every  other  state.  The 
people  of  the  South  came  out  of  the  war  poor.  Their  homes  were 
broken  up.  Their  business  relations  had  come  to  an  end.  They 
were  without  capital.  Indiana  came  out  of  the  war  richer  than 
she  ever  was.  Her  commercial,  manufacturing,  and  agricultural 
interests  have  rapidly  increased.  Why,  then,  should  not  the  state 

75 


take  care  of  the  men  who  so  nobly  protected  their  state's  interests 
during  the  Rebellion? 

I  fear  I  have  taken  up  too  much  of  your  time  already  in  the 
performance  of  my  duty  as  an  installing  officer,  and  I  therefore, 
thank  you  for  the  very  high  compliment  of  inviting  me  to  speak 
to  you  on  this  occasion.  I  hope  your  lives  may  be  spared  for 
many  years  to  come  and  that  I  may  have  an  opportunity  of  meet 
ing  you  again  and  often  at  similar  gatherings.  Comrades,  I 
thank  you. 


76 


ADDRESS  DELIVERED  AT  ENCAMPMENT  OF  UNION  VETERAN  LEGION,, 

BUFFALO,,  N.  Y. 

October,  1895. 

Mr.   Chairman,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen,  and   Comrades  of  the 
U.  V.  L. 

To  appear  before  such  a  battery  of  style,  grace,  beauty  and 
oratory,  places  me  in  a  very  embarrassing  position.  I  fear  your 
chairman  has  made  a  mistake  in  calling  upon  me  when  so  much 
available  timber  awaits  his  command. 

Memory  is  a  great  gift.  This  occasion  revives  in  my  mind 
thoughts  of  the  past.  To  me  the  experiences  of  '61  to  '64  are 
yet  green  in  my  memory.  The  great  events  which  transpired  be 
tween  those  years  are,  to  my  mind,  like  unto  a  panorama  and  as 
the  roll  unfolds  and  passes  before  me  in  all  its  glitter  and  in  all 
its  pomp,  (not  forgetting  its  sorrows),  I  measure  it  with  pleasure 
and  yet  with  sadness. 

When  I  pull  down  volume  after  volume,  so  to  speak,  from  the 
library  of  my  brain,  I  am  confronted  with  a  vast  number  of  varied 
experiences,  which  naturally  pleased  any  union  soldier  who  "done 
duty"  with  his  organization  in  an  active  and  progressive  cam 
paign.  When  I  look  around  me,  and  see  so  many  comrades  who 
certainly  must  have  entered  the  service  at  about  the  same  time  I 
did,  and  watch  closely  the  mark  of  time,  and  diagnose  each  one's 
disability,  I  feel  like  raising  my  voice  to  the  Supreme  Being  and 
offering  up  a  prayer  that  we  have  been  spared  these  many  years. 
Oh !  what  a  mine  of  information  could  be  produced,  and  what  a 
history  could  be  handed  down  to  generations  to  come  by  the  men 
who  are  here  assembled  tonight,  if  they  would  only  put  their 
experiences  in  type.  The  history  of  the  war  for  the  union  is  not 
complete  and  will  never  be  until  the  comrades  of  the  U.  V.  L. 
show  more  of  a  disposition  to  enlighten  the  great,  growing  mul 
titude  that  is  rising  before  us  year  after  year. 

77 


It  has  been  my  pleasure  within  the  past  few  years  to  visit 
some  of  the  familiar  scenes  of  my  army  campaigning.  I  have 
recently  passed  over  the  battlefields  of  Chancellorsville,  Culpepper 
and  Gettysburg,  and  have  renewed  again  my  recollections  of 
many  instances  which  had  escaped  me.  Quite  recently  I  was 
one  of  a  party,  who,  headed  by  the  governor  of  our  state,  made 
a  visit  to  the  battlefield  of  Chickamauga,  to  take  part  in  the  dedi 
cation  ceremonies  of  that  great  National  park.  I  spent  five  days 
in  that  neighborhood,  and  I  say  to  you  that  when  I  climbed 
and  gazed  from  the  top  of  Mighty  Lookout,  where  thirty-two 
years  ago  I  stood  after  the  storming  of  the  mountain  by  the 
White  Star  division,  of  which  General  John  W.  Geary  of  Penn 
sylvania  was  the  commander,  it  appeared  to  me  that  there  had 
been  little  or  no  changes.  And  the  same  spot  on  which  we 
camped,  and  the  very  spot  where  General  Hooker  first  established 
his"  headquarters  on  the  plateau  north  of  the  railroad,  appeared 
just  the  same.  The  "Cravens  house"  and  all  the  surroundings 
seemed  to  carry  with  them  reminiscences  of  past  events,  which 
seem  to  have  occurred  but  yesterday.  And  then,  that  old  line  of 
battle  on  our  extreme  right  on  Missionary  Ridge,  also  called  to 
my  recollection  stirring  scenes.  It  was  my  pleasure,  among 
others  of  that  week,  to  be  present  at  the  "Brotherton  house"  on 
the  battlefield  of  Chickamauga  on  the  afternoon  of  September 
17,  at  a  Reunion  of  a  Rebel  Brigade. 

Much  has  been  said  as  to  the  feelings  and  the  tone  of  the 
southern  soldiers  towards  the  soldiers  of  the  union  army.  Dis 
tinguished  statesmen  and  orators  of  the  South,  in  speaking  of  this 
great  rebellion,  seem  to  desire  to  let  bygones  be  bygones,  but  I  as 
sure  you,  gentlemen  and  comrades,  that  upon  this  particular  occa 
sion,  I  was  not  impressed  with  the  showing  of  that  sentiment.  I 
stood  for  over  thirty  minutes  listening  to  a  young  man  who  was 
the  son  of  a  confederate  soldier.  He  delivered  a  most  eloquent 
address,  and  its  tone,  and  the  thoughts  and  expressions  were  in 
keeping  with  some  of  the  better  element,  and  with  the  rising  gen 
eration  of  the  South.  But,  I  must  say  that  at  the  close  of  his  re 
marks,  when  it  would  naturally  and  necessarily  have  been  ex 
pected  that  they  should  have  met  with  approval,  you  can  judge 
of  my  surprise,  that  outside  of  myself  and  half  a  dozen  com 
rades  of  the  union  army,  there  was  no  applause.  The  impres 
sion  was  given  me  that  their  thoughts  were,  "Young  man,  we 
liave  listened  to  what  you  said,  but  we  don't  believe  a  word  ot  it." 

78 


Then  again,  I  might  take  a  more  liberal  view  of  this  silence. 
The  audience  that  was  congregated  there  was  made  up  of  ma 
terial  which  appeared  to  me  as  being  of  a  class  that  was  some 
what  deficient  in  the  educational  progressiveness  of  the  times, 
and  that  their  late  prejudices  had  not  been  entirely  wiped  out. 
In  company  with  these  other  comrades,  I  pushed  through  this 
large  body  of  people  congregated  there,  made  up  principally  of 
old  confederate  soldiers,  women  and  children,  and  reached  the 
grand  stand.  We  felt  it  our  duty  to  congratulate  the  speaker, 
even  if  his  remarks  did  not  meet  with  our  entire  approval.  After 
reaching  the  stand,  we  immediately  introduced  ourselves  and  con 
gratulated  him  upon  his  very  eloquent  address.  This  seemed  to 
disturb  the  equilibrium  of  some  of  the  crowd  present,  and  we 
could  discern  in  the  expression  on  their  countenances  that  our 
approval  of  the  speech  did  not  meet  with  their  approval.  I  over 
heard  a  woman  in  the  crowd  say,  "You'ns  are  good  lookers,  but 
we'ns  are  the  fighters."  Of  course,  this  coming  from  a  female 
standpoint  certainly  had  its  meaning,  and  hence,  Mr.  Chairman,  I 
cannot  help  but  feel  that  while  the  great  majority  of  the  people  of 
the  south  rejoice  at  the  final  issue  of  the  contest,  still  within  the 
minds  of  some  of  the  old  confederates,  there  still  lingers  that  old 
.animosity.  I  wish,  Mr.  Chairman,  and  comrades  that  I  could  dis 
abuse  my  mind  of  it,  and  I  wish  I  could  feel  differently  on  this 
particular  subject.  I  have  felt  often  that  in  conversations  with 
gentlemen  from  the  South  from  time  to  time,  their  good  expres 
sions  carried  with  them  the  sentiments  of  the  entire  South,  but 
after  my  recent  visit  to  Chickamauga,  I  certainly  have  been  made 
to  feel  to  the  contrary. 

Speaking  as  one  of  the  delegation  from  Encampment  No.  80, 
located  at  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  I  desire,  as  a  "Buckeye"  by  birth 
and  as  a  "Hoosier"  by  adoption,  to  thank  you  for  the  courtesies 
you  have  extended,  and  for  the  grand  way  in  which  you  have 
entertained  us.  And  I  shall  certainly  take  back  to  my  home  in 
Indiana  the  feeling  that  the  citizens  of  Buffalo  have  a  very  warm 
place  in  their  hearts  for  the  union  soldiers.  I  thank  you. 


79 


ADDRESS  DELIVERED  BEFORE  GEO.  H.  THOMAS  POST  NO.    17,  G.  A.   R, 


Indianapolis,  Ind.,  1887. 

The  spring  of  1861  found  me  a  member  of  the  Cincinnati 
"Rover  Guards,"  a  crack  military  company  of  the  city  of  Cin 
cinnati.  The  membership  was  made  up  of  young  men,  ranging 
from  twenty-two  to  thirty-two,  not  a  few  in  the  forties.  The 
eligibility  clause  was,  to  be  of  good  moral  character,  and  a  pledge 
that  in  all  our  undertakings,  each  member  should  do  his  full 
duty.  The  year  previous,  we  had  many  pleasant  drills,  parades, 
entertainments  and  excursions,  that  made  our  early  soldier  life 
enjoyable.  This,  however,  was  of  short  duration.  The  fall  of 
Sumter,  and  the  call  of  the  president  for  seventy-five  thousand 
men,  gave  our  boys  something  of  the  stern  realities  of  a  soldier's 
life  to  think  of.  The  war  spirit  ran  through  our  organization 
like  wild  fire.  Every  man  was  eager  for  the  fray.  Ohio's  quota 
of  the  call  for  seventy-five  thousand  men  was  ten  thousand,  and 
the  first  company  of  Cincinnati  Rover  Guards  responded  prompt 
ly,  and  was  assigned  to  the  second  regiment  of  Ohio  militia  under 
command  of  Colonel  Lew  Wilson,  who  had  resigned  the  office 
of  chief  of  police  to  enter  the  service.  This  company  took  part 
in  the  memorable  first  Bull  Run  battle.  A  few  members  of  the 
original  organization  remained  behind  and  organized  a  second 
company.  Of  this,  I  was  one. 

We  found  no  difficulty  in  recruiting  a  second  company,  and 
on  April  2Oth,  1861,  we  marched  into  Camp  Harrison  near  Cin 
cinnati,  one  hundred  strong.  Here  we  were  assigned  to  the 
Fifth  Ohio  regiment,  then  organizing  and  made  Company  "C" 
and  mustered  into  the  service  May  8th,  for  three  months.  Be 
fore,  however,  the  regiment  was  completely  equipped,  the  call 
for  three  year  troops  was  issued,  and  on  the  2Oth  of  June,  our 
regiment  was  mustered  in  for  three  years. 

In  the  meantime,  however,  we  had  been  trans fered  from  Camp 

80 


Harrison  to  Camp  Dennison.  On  July  loth,  1861,  we  left  Camp 
Dennison,  by  rail,  for  Western  Virginia.  We  campaigned  in 
Virginia  several  months,  taking  an  active  part  in  many  of  the 
reconnoissances  and  bushwhacking  engagements  of  that  depart 
ment. 

On  the  7th  of  November,  we  found  ourselves  at  Romney, 
Virginia.  This  place  had  gained  considerable  reputation,  and  our 
boys  were  extremely  anxious  to  gaze  upon  the  dark  and  bloody 
grounds  made  memorable  by  the  nth  Indiana.  At  this  point, 
for  the  first  time,  we  were  assigned  to  a  brigade  under  the  com 
mand  of  a  loyal  Virginian,  whose  home  had  been  Wheeling,  West 
Virginia,  and  with  pleasure  I  mention  the  name  of  General  B. 
F.  Kelley.  We  remained  in  and  around  Romney  during  the 
months  of  November  and  December,  doing  little  else  than  picket 
duty,  drilling  and  an  occasional  trip  into  the  country  looking  for 
some  rebel  who  had  been  reported  as  returning  home  to  look  af-^ 
ter  domestic  affairs. 

In  January,  1862,  our  regiment  moved  to  Patterson's  Creek, 
and  was  there  transferred  to  the  command  of  Gen.  Landers.  On 
the  4th  of  February,  General  Landers  died,  and  Colonel  Nathan 
Kimble,  I4th  Indiana,  succeeded  to  the  command.  From  Jan 
uary  until  March  1st,  nothing  of  interest  occurred.  During  this 
time  we  had  been  transferred  to  the  command  of  General  "Jim- 
mie"  Shields. 

On  March  23rd,  1862,  the  battle  of  Winchester  was  fought. 
This  was  the  regiment's  first  baptism  in  fire.  In  this  engage 
ment,  five  of  our  color  bearers  were  shot  down  in  succession. 
Our  loss  was  forty-seven  killed  and  wounded,  our  regimental 
colors  having  over  forty  holes  through  them,  which  was  of  it 
self  a  sufficient  proof  of  the  severity  of  this  engagement.  The 
enemy  fell  back,  and  the  march  down  the  beautiful  Shenandoah 
was  resumed,  through  Woodstock,  and  Edinburg;  thence  to 
Mount  Jackson,  and  New  Market. 

Many  instances  of  personal  heroism  and  valor,  among  these 
inexperienced  soldiers,  occurred  during  this  campaign.  Many 
weary  miles  were  tramped  and  retramped  through  rain  and 
slush.  The  singing  of  some  popular  song,  such  as  "John  Brown's 
Body"  always  had  a  stimulating  and  exhilarating  influence. 

On  June  Qth,  1862,  we  found  ourselves  pressed  by 
"Stonewall"  Jackson,  at  Port  Republic,  in  the  Luray  Valley.  The 
battle  opened  fierce  and  hot;  charges  and  counter  charges  were 

81 


made.  The  regiment  rallied  again,  and  finally  were  rewarded 
by  the  capture  of  one  gun — a  hard  day's  work  for  such  poor  re 
sults.  In  this  engagement,  the  boys  had  their  first  introduction 
to  the  "Louisiana  Tigers,"  who,  from  their  standpoint,  could 
terrorize  the  world,  but  I  am  safe  in  saying  that  they  found  the 
"Butcher  Boys"  of  Cincinnati,  foemen  worthy  of  their  steel.  I  de 
sire  to  say  right  here  that  this  name  was  given  us  by  the  "Tigers," 
on  account  of  our  Colonel  having  been  a  butcher  at  the  time  he 
entered  the  service.  In  this  engagement,  the  Johnnies  were  too 
much  for  us,  and  we  were  compelled  to  fall  back.  Our  loss  was 
185  taken  prisoner,  and  the  total  loss  killed,  wounded  and  pris 
oners,  aggregated  244. 

From  June,  1862,  to  the  latter  part  of  July,  a  little  over  five 
weeks  of  marching  and  fighting,  being  worried  to  death  by  the 
uncertain  movements  of  old  "Stonewall"  Jackson,  short  rations 
and  shoeless,  had  the  effect  of  causing  gloom  and  confusion 
among  our  ranks,  until  at  last  we  halted  near  Alexandria,  Va., 
nearly  naked,  without  shelter,  and  completely  worn  out.  At  this 
point,  the  regiment  remained  several  weeks,  recruiting  health  and 
clothing  ourselves  in  Uncle  Sam's  latest  styles  of  blue. 

About  the  25th  of  July  we  were  assigned  to  General  John  W. 
Geary's  brigade,  of  Pennsylvania  troops ;  and  now  again  with  a 
new  leader,  we  were  expected  to  win  fresh  laurels,  and  to  make 
an  additional  star  for  him — which  the  Ohio  boys  assisted  him  in 
securing.  We  were  soon  on  the  move,  this  time,  "On  to  Rich 
mond."  We  were  ordered  to  report  to  Major  General  John 
Pope,  of  "Headquarters-in-the-saddle ;  Feed-on-the-enemy"  fame. 
And  right  here,  I  wish  to  protest  the  same  as  thousands  upon 
thousands  of  my  Potomac  comrades  protested,  to  the  indiscre 
tion  of  such  an  order.  Here  we  were,  on  the  plains  of  Manassas, 
which  had  been  marched  and  remarched,  fought  over  and  re- 
fought  over,  until  there  was  nothing  for  a  thing  that  breathed 
life  to  live  on.  In  his  enthusiasm  he  caused  himself  to  be  the 
ridicule  of  our  portion  of  the  army.  I  do  not  wish  by  this  to 
convey  the  impression  that  I  did  not  at  the  time  have  the  utmost 
confidence  in  him,  but  it  was  one  of  those  circumstances  with 
too  much  enthusiasm  attached  and  not  sufficient  knowledge  of 
the  country  in  which  he  was  campaigning.  This  was  the  cause 
of  his  failure,  and  can  be  partly  explained  on  account  of  his 
recent  transfer  from  the  western  to  the  eastern  department. 
Great  things  were  to  be  accomplished ;  as  so  many  failures  had 

82 


been  made  by  eastern  men,  here  was  an  opportunity  for  him  to 
immortalize  himself,  coming,  as  he  did,  from  Island  10,  already 
loaded  down  with  honors.  General  Pope's  career  was  of  short  du 
ration  in  the  eastern  army.  Before  going  further,  I  wish  to  state 
that  we  were  "Potomacers,"  ''paper  collars  and  red  tape,"  as  our 
western  comrades  pleased  to  style  us.  Our  corps  organization  was 
the  1 2th  in  the  east,  under  General  Slocum,  and  the  2oth  under 
General  Hooker,  in  the  west. 

About  August  22nd,  and  while  all  this  was  going  on,  and  Gen 
eral  Pope  had  surrounded  himself  with  "all  the  comforts  of 
home,"  an  amusing  circumstance  occurred,  which  afterwards 
placed  the  general  to  some  inconvenience.  The  Rebel  Cavalry 
General  Stuart  called  on  General  Pope  one  fine  evening,  and 
captured  his  beautiful  headquarter  train,  some  twenty  odd 
wagons,  promising  to  return  them  "after  the  war."  This  was 
enjoyed  hugely  by  us  boys.  We  had  been  longing  to  have  a 
chance  to  "guy"  him.  No  member  of  Pope's  staff  could,  after 
that,  show  himself  before  our  brigade,  without  getting  a  pelting 
of  "There  he  goes,"  "How's  Stuart's  Cavalry,"  "Headquarters  in 
the  Saddle,  feed  on  the  enemy,"  and  the  like. 

We  will  again  pick  up  the  step  and  move  on  from  Warren- 
ton.  We  are  now  a  part  of  the  Grand  Army  under  Pope,  and 
our  object  is  either  to  have  a  fight  or  a  foot  race.  We  got  both. 
First  the  fight,  and  then  the  race.  On  the  Qth  day  of  August, 
1862,  we  find  ourselves  in  front  of  Slaughter  Mountain.  Some 
historians  call  it  Cedar  Mountain,  but  the  correct  name  is  Slaugh 
ter  Mountain,  and  it  was  owned  by  Dr.  D.  F.  Slaughter,  who 
was  in  the  Rebel  Army  at  the  time.  This  engagement,  like  many 
others  in  which  the  army  of  the  Potomac  took  part,  was  lost  by 
bad  management.  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  individualize,  but  just 
as  sure  as  I  stand  here,  somebody  lost  his  head.  In  this  engage 
ment  our  regiment's  loss  was  extremely  heavy — 18  killed,  7  com 
missioned  officers,  and  89  men  wounded,  out  of  275  that  entered 
the  battle.  Then  came  one  of  the  most  remarkable  retrograde 
movements  ever  witnessed  in  American  warfare.  Fighting  inch 
by  inch,  fierce  and  bloody  battles.  The  whole  territory  from 
Slaughter  Mountain  to  the  entrenchments  around  Washington, 
sixty  miles,  was  fought  over ;  the  country  strewn  with  fragments 
of  every  conceivable  thing  that  goes  to  make  up  the  equipment 
of  an  army  of  operation. 

Here  I  left  the  army,  as  I  was  taken  to  a  hospital  in  Alexan- 

83 


dria  in  September,  1862,  and  did  not  join  my  command  until 
some  time  in  November,  1862,  at  Harper's  Ferry,  Virginia. 

After  various  marches  and  counter  marches,  we  finally  went 
into  camp  about  the  middle  of  December,  1862,  at  Dumfries,  Vir 
ginia.  We  lay  here,  in  winter  quarters,  during  the  winter  of 
1862  and  1863,  until  April,  when  we  joined  the  advance  of 
Hooker's  army. 

May  ist  to  3rd,  1863,  we  were  in  the  bloody  battle  of  Chan- 
cellorsville.  If  there  was  any  one  engagement  in  which  I  par 
ticipated,  that  is  vividly  impressed  upon  my  memory,  this,  of 
bloody  Chancellorsville,  is  it ;  now  fighting  behind  breast  works, 
now  marching  on  flank,  to  be  finally  beaten  back,  demoralized  and 
stampeded ;  think  of  it !  By  a  force  greatly  superior  to  ours.  The 
nth  corps  broke  and  ran.  They  were  demoralized,  and  why? 
Because  of  the  fault  of  the  officer  in  command.  I  wish  to  ask 
each  old  soldier  here,  what  would  you  think  of  a  commander,  in 
the  enemy's  country  and  the  foe  in  close  range,  allowing  his 
men  to  stack  arms,  unsling  knapsacks,  make  coffee  and  play 
cards?  This  was  the  condition  of  things  on  the  extreme  right 
of  the  nth  corps  at  5  o'clock  p.  m.,  the  2nd  of  May,  1863.  I  am 
stating  indisputable  facts.  We,  of  the  I2th  corps,  were  brought 
up  to  arrest  the  retreating  tide,  and  such  as  these  were  the  state 
ments  made  by  the  half-crazed  men  in  their  desire  to  get  to  the 
rear.  It  was  a  terrible  scene.  Thirty  thousand  rebels  under  old 
"Stonewall"  Jackson,  rushing  into  twelve  thousand  union  men, 
pouring  shot,  shell  and  lead  incessantly;  horses  running  wild 
without  riders ;  Rodmen,  Parrotts  and  Napoleons  lying  here  and 
there,  all  over  the  field ;  caissons  with  one,  sometimes  two  horses, 
riderless,  going  pell-mell,  helter-skelter. 

The  nth  corps  was  mostly  made  up  of  German  organizations, 
and  to  us  "Potomacers"  were  known  as  "Blenker's  Dutch"— men 
who  would  carry  off  anything  except  a  red  hot  stove.  They  were 
greatly  attached  to  General  Sigel,  who  had  been,  a  short  time 
previous  to  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville,  removed  from  their 
command.  This  greatly  displeased  them,  and  also  had  a  de 
moralizing  effect.  Imagine,  if  you  can,  between  eight  and  nine 
thousand  Germans,  bare-headed,  bare-footed,  yelling  and  flying 
hither  and  thither  in  terror,  escaping  wherever  possible,  and  cry 
ing,  "Mem  Gott,  mein  Gott !  Mein  Frau,  mein  Frau !  Mein  Kin 
der',  mein  Kinder !  I  fights  mit  Sigel!  I  fights  mit  Sigel."  They 
were  throwing  knapsacks,  canteens,  cartridge  boxes  to  the  four 

84 


winds,  and  banging  guns  around  trees,  and  stumps.  Here  were 
wagons,  horses,  ambulances,  men,  caissons,  cannon,  all  jumbled 
together  in  a  struggling,  terrified  mass,  many  of  the  men  even 
getting  to  the  river  and  swimming  across  in  their  frenzy.  You 
cannot  imagine  the  confusion  and  uproar.  Being  on  special  duty 
at  the  time,  at  Division  Headquarters,  I  had  an  opportunity  of 
witnessing  a  good  part  of  the  excitement,  and  endeavoring  with 
our  whole  division  to  bring  order  our  of  chaos.  No  body  of  men 
ever  made  more  strenuous  efforts  than  we  of  the  I2th  corps  to 
stem  the  tide  of  retreat,  but  the  panic  was  too  great.  The  rebels 
pushed  us  in  all  directions,  yelling,  and  shouting  triumphantly; 
turning  our  captured  guns  upon  us,  hurling  shot,  shell  and  can- 
nister  from  the  very  cannon  which  we  a  few  hours  before  were 
using  upon  them.  The  night  of  May  2nd,  1863,  will  never  be 
obliterated  from  my  memory,  should  I  live  a  hundred  years.  The 
most  terrible  cannonading  ever  heard  by  human  ears ;  the  very 
heavens  and  earth  seemed  to  be  ablaze.  It  was  one  of  the  most 
sublime  scenes  of  my  war  experience.  The  moon  shown  bright 
in  the  heavens,  and  not  a  breath  of  air  moved  that  dense  forest. 
It  was  on  this  night  the  Rebel  Army  lost  a  most  valuable  officer. 
Brave,  energetic,  indefatigable,  "Stonewall"  Jackson,  lost  his  life 
at  the  hands  of  his  own  men. 

During  our  army  life,  many  strong  attachments  grew  up  be 
tween  comrades,  and  with  me  this  was  no  exception.  The  5th 
day  of  May,  1863,  brought  with  it  a  feeling  of  despondency.  Our 
army  was  retiring  to  the  north  banks  of  the  Rappahannock  river. 
We  had  been  out-generaled.  The  ill-timed  and  boastful  order 
of  General  Hooker,  did  not  stay  the  excitement,  nor  disguise  this 
fact.  Our  regiment  had  lost  heavily.  Many  of  our  best  officers 
and  men  had  perished,  and  our  lieutenant  colonel,  to  whom  I  was 
most  closely  attached,  had  been  severely  wounded  in  the  right 
arm,  and  left  thigh.  My  friend  and  comrade,  the  Colonel,  whose 
right  arm  was  amputated,  survived  the  operation,  and  still  lives, 
being  an  honored  resident  of  Springfield,  Ohio,  and  a  member  of 
this  order. 

The  whole  country  around  was  swarming  with  wounded  men, 
hobbling  and  groaning,  and  seeking  surgical  aid.  The  carnage 
was  awful,  and  our  position  very  humiliating.  From  this  short, 
disasterous  campaign,  our  army  returned  to  their  old  camping 
ground. 

On  the  6th  day  of  May,  General  Hooker  issued  an  order,  which 

85 


for  cold  comfort,  exceeded  anything  of  the  kind  ever  put  in  print 
Some  parts  are,  however,  correct,  but  the  most  of  it  was  bun 
combe.  The  preliminaries  of  the  battle  were  conducted  with 
military  ability;  the  finale  was  discomfort  and  retreat.  I  quote: 
"The  Major  General  commanding,  tenders  to  this  army  his  con 
gratulations  on  its  achievements  of  the  last  seven  days.  It  has 
not  accomplished  all  that  was  expected.  The  reasons  (well 
known  to  the  army),  it  is  sufficient  to  say,  were  of  a  character 
not  to  be  foreseen,  nor  to  be  prevented  by  human  sagacity  or  re 
sources.  This  order,  if  not  perfectly  satisfactory  to  the  country, 
and  to  the  authorities,  will  be  generally  hailed  with  applause  by 
the  army."  (Signed  by  command  of  Major  General  Hooker.) 

Lee's  army  numbered  60,000;  Hooker's  about  120,000:  thus, 
you  will  see  that  we  out  numbered  them  two  to  one.  The  com 
mittee  on  the  conduct  of  the  war,  accounts  for  the  failure  of  Gen 
eral  Hooker  at  Chancellorsville,  as  follows:  ist,  The  stampede 
of  the  nth  Army  Corps  on  May  2nd;  2nd,  The  injury  sustained 
by  General  Hooker,  on  the  3rd.  3rd,  The  failure  of  Sedgewick 
to  carry  out  his  orders  to  fall  on  the  rear  of  Lee's  army  on  the 
morning  of  the  3rd.  4th,  The  entire  failure  of  General  Stone- 
man  to  perform  the  duty  assigned  him,  viz. :  the  cutting  off  of 
Lee's  communication  with  Richmond. 

Our  whole  loss  in  this  engagement,  taken  from  the  official 
records,  in  the  War  Department,  were,  killed,  1512;  wounded, 
9,518;  missing,  5,000;  total,  16,030.  Gettysburg,  with  her  loss 
of  23,186;  the  Wilderness  of  1864,  of  18,387,  places  Chancellors 
ville  as  one  of  the  grandest  battles  fought  by  the  Union  troops. 

The  uninitiated  and  the  public  that  has  grown  up  since  the 
war,  quite  frequently  ask,  "How  can  you  fellows  recollect  so  much 
of  the  War ;  so  many  of  the  incidents  of  your  campaigns  ?  You 
must  have  wonderful  memories."  Ah !  my  friends,  my  sympathy 
goes  out  to  one  who  has  no  recollections  of  the  late  rebellion ; 
no  particular  part  borne  by  himself.  I  am  happy  to  state,  how 
ever,  that  I  have  never  met  a  soldier  yet,  who  has  had  more  or 
less  experience,  that  could  not  relate,  if  he  had  the  chance  and 
wanted  to,  many  interesting  happenings,  yet,  in  this  connection, 
I  might  state  that  we  have  many  comrades  who  have  seen  too 
much  service,  (from  their  standpoint),  men  who  are  constantly 
punishing  us  with  recital  of  their  "daring  deeds,"  "narrow  es 
capes,"  "meritorious  conduct,"  etc.  etc.  etc.  We  have  this  com 
rade  who  tells  us  about  the  "right  wing,"  and  that  one  who  tells 

86 


us  all  about  the  "left  wing,"  another  one  who  "had  been  thar" 
from  the  First  Bull  Run,  to  Appomatox ;  another  one  who,  in 
cavalry  service,  had  ridden  all  around  the  Confederacy,  never  re 
ceiving  a  scratch,  and  never  killed  a  rebel,  used  up  from  four  to 
ten  horses,  and  no  end  of  chickens,  pigs,  sorghum  and  such  other 
delicacies  that  the  advance  guard  of  an  army  generally  secures. 
Another  one  who  can  cut  a  two,  four  or  six  second  fuse ;  sight 
a  Rodman,  Parrott,  or  Napoleon  gun,  and  drop  a  shell  at  point 
blank  range  within  the  circle  of  a  silver  dollar ;  another  one  who, 
having  served  on  the  staff  of  some  general  officer,  tells  us  how  he 
rode  around  the  country,  during  some  dark  and  stormy  night, 
conveying  an  important  order,  and  how,  if  this  had  not  been  ac 
complished,  our  army,  or  his  army,  would  have  been  demora 
lized,  and  our  Cause  lost;  another  one  tells  how  the  troops  from 
his  State  fought,  bled  and  died.  Oh  my !  I  sigh  heavily.  What 
would  he  have  done  but  for  those  same  dear  old  chums.  The  war 
would  probably  be  going  on  at  this  present  moment,  had  they 
not  been  there.  Of  course,  we  are  glad  to  have  these  good,  whole- 
souled  fellows  in  our  midst,  and  why?  Because  we  want  them, 
They  are  a  part  of  us,  and  we  cannot  do  without  them.  They 
assist  in  making  our  friendship  more  binding. 

This  ends  my  experience  up  to  and  including  Chancellorsville, 
and  I  feel,  as  this  is  my  first  appearance  before  you,  I  will  not 
detain  you  longer.  Should  I  live,  I  shall  be  pleased  to  pick  up 
where  I  here  leave  off,  and  continue  until  my  muster-out,  in  July 
1864.  Comrades,  I  thank  you. 


87 


REMARKS  AT  LAFAYETTE,  INDIANA,  1895 INSTALLATION  OF  THE 

OFFICERS,  ENCAMPMENT  127,  UNION  VETERAN  LEGION. 

COMRADES. — 

As  I  look  over  this  audience,  I  see  before  me  a  large  assembly 
of  the  "Old  Boys"  of  the  Union  Army.  And,  mingling  with  them 
in  sympathy  and  sentiment  are  their  friends,  called  together  for 
this  special  occasion.  As  a  speaker,  I  make  no  pretentions  to 
oratory,  but  a  social  talk  and  pleasant  interchanges  of  thought,  I 
enjoy.  I  appreciate  a  warm  debate.  I  love  the  comrade  who 
takes  the  opposite  to  me  in  an  argument. 

Every  comrade  who  served  in  the  Union  Army  and  is  eligible, 
should  be  a  member  of  this  great  and  grand  Order.  No  comrade 
should  be  marked  as  a  straggler.  Every  state  in  this  Union  that 
sent  troops,  had  the  best.  Indiana  had  great  soldiers.  Ohio, 
Illinois,  Michigan,  New  York,  and  Pennsylvania,  also.  No  State 
was  behind  in  point  of  loyalty  and  heroism.  The  percentage  of 
losses  were  greater  in  some  of  the  individual  oragnizations  than 
in  others,  but  the  valor  was  the  same.  I  recall  the  exciting  times 
of  April  1861 ;  the  rush  of  volunteers;  the  enlistment  scenes; 
the  music  of  the  fife  and  drum ;  the  anxiety  of  the  men ;  the  heart 
aches  that  followed  in  the  homes  of  those  who  enlisted.  From  the 
field,  office  and  store  came  prompt  response.  Almost  thirty-four 
years  have  passed  away,  and  the  Volunteers  of  1861,  splendid 
in  their  manliness,  perfect  in  physique,  are  today  the  middle  aged 
and  old  men  of  1895.  The  older  ones  are  passing  away  rapidly. 
Their  steps  are  slower.  It  will  not  be  long  before  the  rear  guard 
passes. 

The  regiments  that  left  this  State  were  among  the  best  that 
composed  the  Union  Army.  Their  records  are  inscribed  upon 
their  banners.  Mementoes  of  severe  engagements  on  all  the 
principal  battle  fields  of  the  East  and  West,  can  be  found.  Vic 
tories  are  emblazoned  in  the  minds  of  the  survivors,  and  history 
records  their  valorous  deeds. 

88 


When  Mr.  Lincoln  first  called  for  75000  men,  the  question 
was  asked,  "Where  will  he  find  so  many?"  I  ask  you  comrades, 
did  he  find  them?  Then,  he  asked  for  200,000.  They  too  were 
ready.  Then  300,000  and  300,000  more,  and  from  every  corner 
of  this  loyal  land  went  up  the  shouts  and  huzzahs,  "We  are  com 
ing,  Father  Abraham,  six  hundred  thousand  strong."  Under 
the  first  calls,  enlistments  were  very  rapid.  Thousands  walked 
soberly  and  deliberately  up  to  the  recruiting  stations,  and  signed 
their  enlistment  papers. 

You  may  fancy  our  raw  recruits  overloading  themselves  when 
starting  on  their  first  march,  but  before  the  end  of  the  first  day, 
a  change  takes  place,  and  they  find  themselves  in  very  light 
marching  order.  When  I  am  confronted  with  the  extravagant 
ideas  of  the  men  who  write  and  sing  about  the  heroes  of  the  war, 
.and  who  dwell  minutely  on  favorite  general  officers,  as  the  only 
heroes,  I  take  exceptions  to  their  statements.  Can  it  be  said  that 
out  of  the  enlistment  of  over  a  million  men  only  a  few  great 
heroes  were  produced?  Can  this  be  possible?  Oh,  no  my 
friends,  we  will  never  admit  that.  I  have  my  opinion  as  to  what 
constitutes  a  hero.  Not  alone  the  men  who  held  commissions,  or 
those  who  toiled  under  the  pressure  of  knap-sack  and  gun,  during 
hot  summer  days,  or  suffered  at  some  lonely  out-post  the  cold  of 
winter,  but  I  record  both,  by  their  best  intelligence  and  loftiest 
patriotism  one  and  inseparable,  whose  enlistments  were  early 
and  service  long,  and  who,  so  to  speak,  marched  from  Phillippi 
to  Appomatox.  They  are  the  real  Heroes. 

A  comrade  who  enlisted  early  and  was  maimed,  who  recovered 
and  again  took  his  place  in  the  ranks  or  at  the  head  of  his  particu 
lar  command,  is  worthy  of  the  highest  consideration  and  should 
be  classified  as  a  special  hero  of  the  late  war.  When  we  follow 
this  fair  reasoning,  we  find  that  instead  of  only  a  few  great 
heroes  there  were  thousands  of  comrades  entitled  to  this  honor 
able  distinction.  Soon  all  the  living  participants  will  have  an 
swered  the  last  call.  The  bugle  will  have  sounded  for  the  last 
time,  ''Lights  out."  Then,  history  alone  will  be  left  to  tell  of  the 
heroic  conduct  of  the  men  of  the  Union  Army. 

Look  at  those  tattered  and  faded  flags  in  our  State  Houses. 
Examine  closely  the  history  of  each  regimental  standard,  and  we 
find  a  record  of  suffering,  of  bravery  and  heroic  deeds  by  men 
who  died  under  their  folds,  and  by  those  who  took  their  places 
and  "kept  the  colors  up."  It  would  be  somewhat  of  a  task  to 

89 


obtain  the  history  of  each  and  every  flag,  but  enough  can  be  seen,, 
enough  can  be  read  about  each  to  plant  in  the  minds  of  the  gen 
erations  to  come  the  bravery  and  self-sacrifice  of  the  American- 
Volunteer.  Many  of  the  men  who  so  proudly  carried  these  flags 
sleep  in  unmarked  graves  on  southern  battle-fields. 

Thirty-four  years  have  almost  passed  since  the  commencement 
of  the  war.  Conflicting  statements  of  eye-witnesses  of  scenes 
have  occured  and  still  create  considerable  discussion.  Our  mem 
ories  are  less  reliable.  Even  official  statements  do  not  always 
agree.  The  position  of  an  officer  is  with  his  men,  and  he  rarely 
sees  or  knows  during  a  battle  anything  outside  of  the  immediate 
location. 

But  hold!  Were  men  alone  engaged  in  heroic  deeds?  Were 
there  no  heroic  women  of  the  war?  I  remember  when  a  school 
boy  how  our  teacher  read  to  us  the  heroic  deed  of  Molly  Pitcher 
at  the  battle  of  Monmouth.  How  she  took  her  place  as  a  can 
noneer,  and  how  she  rammed  the  shot  and  shell  into  the  gun, 
and  how  she  perfomed  other  heroic  deeds,  and  how  General 
Washington  complimented  her  in  general  orders  and  gave  her 
a  sergeant's  commission ;  how  Congress  placed  her  name  on  the 
list  of  half-pay  officers  for  life,  as  the  heroine  of  the  Revolu 
tionary  War.  This  is  not  a  circumstance  in  comparison  to  the 
many  courageous  and  heroic  deeds  of  the  noble  women  of  the  late 
war.  Who  will  write  up  the  heroines  of  '61  to  '65  ?  Instead  of 
being  one  Molly  Pitcher  in  the  late  war,  there  were  hundreds  of 
them. 

Man  moulded  the  great  artillery.  Man  invented  and  manu 
factured  the  small  arms.  Man  furnished  the  brains  and  brawn 
that  pushed  the  Rebellion  to  a  speedy  close.  Women  prepared 
lint  and  bandages,  administered  medicine;  watched  by  the  dy 
ing  couch ;  wrote  the  last  message  home  and  attended  the  lonely 
burials.  Men  did  their  work  with  shot  and  shell,  musket  and 
bayonet,  sabre  and  cannon.  Women  did  their  work  with  socks, 
slippers,  bandages,  warm  drinks;  stroked  hot  temples;  read 
the  letters  from  home,  and  the  beautiful  stories  of  that  land  in 
which  "There  shall  be  no  death,  neither  sorrow  nor  crying,"  the 
the  eternal  camping  ground.  Men  would  ask  a  wounded  com 
rade,  "What  regiment  do  you  belong  to?"  Women  would  ask 
"Where  are  you  hurt,"  "What  can  I  do  for  you?"  "What  nice 
thing  can  I  make  to  please  you?"  "Have  you  a  mother?"  "What 
makes  you  cry?" 

90 


Never  can  be  fully  realized,  save  by  those  who  lived  through 
the  period  of  the  war,  the  great  and  noble  service  of  the  Sanitary 
Commission  and  the  many  thousands  of  women  who  labored 
constantly  in  that  service,  with  lofty  patience,  silent  endurance 
and  devoted  sacrifice.  It  was  woman  who  stood  loyally  by  the 
Government  during  its  greatest  trials. 

The  number  of  women  who  actually  bore  arms  and  served  in 
the  ranks  during  the  war,  was  greater  than  is  supposed.  Some 
times  they  followed  the  Army  as  nurses  and  divided  their  services 
between  the  battlefields  and  hospital.  The  3rd  Michigan,  a  three 
year  regiment,  had  a  woman  attached  to  it,  and  when  their  ser 
vice  was  ended,  she  joined  the  5th  Michigan.  Through  the  four 
years  of  the  war,  she  was  found  in  the  field,  often  in  the  thickest 
of  the  fight,  always  inspiring  the  men  to  deeds  of  valor.  She  was 
always  respected  for  her  correctness  of  life.  Soldiers  and  officers 
vied  with  each  other  in  their  devotion  to  her.  I  might  speak, 
also  of  the  First  Michigan  Cavalry.  The  wife  of  a  private  of 
this  grand  old  regiment  accompanied  it  and  served  through  the 
war.  Always  fearless  and  daring,  always  doing  the  service  of  a 
soldier.  At  the  close  of  the  war,  together  with  her  husband, 
she  joined  the  regular  army. 

The  5th  Rhode  Island  Infantry  enlisted  a  woman.  She  was  for 
a  time  color  bearer  of  the  regiment.  She  marched  with  the  men. 
Asked  no  favors  as  a  woman,  but  bore  the  brunt  of  battle  on  oc 
casion,  as  fearlessly  as  her  comrades.  She  was  in  General  Burn- 
sides'  expedition  to  Roanoke  Island  and  Newbern,  where  her 
husband  was  severely  injured  and  rendered  unfit  for  service. 
Both  were  discharged  and  returned  to  private  life. 

I  have  seen  it  stated  that  the  number  of  women  soldiers  known 
to  the  service  was  a  little  less  than  four  hundred.  It  is  posi 
tively  known  that  a  very  large  number  disguised  themselves  and 
enlisted  in  the  service  for  one  cause  or  another.  Entrenched  in 
secrecy,  and  regarded  as  men,  they  were  sometimes  revealed  as 
women  by  accident  or  casualty.  Startling  stories  of  these  women 
were  current  in  the  gossip  of  army  life.  Many  were  extravagant 
and  unreal,  but  one  always  felt  that  they  had  some  foundation 
in  fact. 

During  the  enlistment  of  the  iQth  Illinois,  Colonel  Turchin's 
regiment,  and  while  the  officers  were  drilling  their  awkward 
squads,  the  Captain  of  one  of  the  companies  approached  the 
Colonel  and  asked  him  if  he  noticed  anything  peculiar  in  the 

91 


appearance  of  one  of  his  men.  The  Colonel  at  a  glance,  saw  that 
the  "man"  was  a  woman  in  male  attire.  The  "man"  was  called 
from  the  ranks  and  informed  of  the  suspicion,  and  asked  what 
"he  had  to  say."  Clutching  the  Colonel  by  the  arm,  and  speaking 
in  tones  of  passionate  entreaty,  she  begged  him  not  to  expose  her, 
but  allow  her  to  retain  her  disguise.  Her  husband  was  enlisted 
in  the  company,  and  she  said  that  it  would  kill  her  if  she  could 
not  go  with  him.  She  was  quietly  taken  aside  and  returned  home. 
Shortly  after  this,  the  regiment  was  ordered  to  Cairo,  Illinois, 
and  it  was  reported  that  she  afterwards  rejoined  it. 

For  individual  and  personal  bravery,  outside  of  the  regular 
lines  of  military  duty,  was  there  ever  such  courage,  such  valor, 
such  heroism,  shown  before  or  since,  as  that  by  Miss  Josephine 
Rodgers  at  the  Battle  of  Gettysburg  on  July  2nd,  1863?  Our 
position  on  the  2nd  day  of  July  was  stronger  than  on  the  first 
day.  Near  the  line  occupied  by  the  1st  brigade,  2nd  division, 
3d  army  corps,  commanded  by  General  J.  B.  Carr,  stood  a  lit 
tle  one-story  house,  which  at  the  time  of  the  battle  was  occupied 
by  Mrs.  Rodgers  and  her  daughter,  Josephine. 

On  the  morning  of  July  2nd,  General  Carr  stopped  at  the  house 
and  found  the  daughter,  a  girl  about  eighteen  years  of  age, 
alone,  busily  engaged  in  baking  bread.  He  informed  her  that  a 
great  battle  was  inevitable,  and  advised  her  to  seek  a  place  of 
safety  at  once.  She  said  she  had  a  batch  of  bread  baking  in  the 
oven,  and  she  would  remain  until  it  was  baked,  and  then  leave. 
When  her  bread  was  baked  it  was  given  to  our  soldiers,  and 
was  devoured  so  eagerly  ,  that  she  concluded  to  remain  and  bake 
another  batch,  and  so  she  continued  to  the  end  of  the  battle,  bak 
ing  and  giving  her  bread  to  all  who  came.  The  great  artillery 
duel  which  shook  the  earth  for  miles  around  did  not  drive  her 
from  her  oven.  Pickett's  men,  who  charged  past  the  house, 
found  her  quietly  baking  her  bread  and  distributing  it  to  the 
hungry.  When  the  battle  was  over,  her  house  was  found  to  be 
riddled  with  shot  and  shell  and  seventeen  dead  bodies  were 
taken  from  the  house  and  cellar.  These  bodies  were  of  wounded 
men  who  had  crawled  to  the  little  dwelling  for  shelter.  Twenty 
years  after  the  close  of  the  war,  General  Carr's  men  and  others 
held  a  grand  Re-union  at  Gettysburg,  and  learning  that  Jose 
phine  Rodgers  was  still  living,  but  had  married  and  taken  up 
her  residence  in  Ohio,  they  sent  for  her  and  paid  her  passage 
from  her  home  to  Gettysburg  and  back,  and  had  her  go  to  her  old 

92 


home  and  tell  again  the  story  that  they  all  knew  so  well.  They 
decorated  her  with  a  score  of  army  badges,  and  sent  her  back  to 
Ohio,  a  happy  woman.  Why  should  not  the  poet  immortalize 
Josephine  Rodgers  as  he  did  Barbara  Fritchie? 

It  is  to  the  honor  of  the  American  Women,  not  that  they  led 
the  hosts  to  deadly  charge,  and  battled  amid  contending  armies, 
but  that  they  confronted  the  grim  and  horrid  aspects  of  the  war 
with  tenderness  and  mighty  love  and  devotion  to  the  Cause ;  al 
ways  in  active  pursuit  of  opportunities  to  render  all  service  pos 
sible,  consistent  with  the  sex.  Let  not  the  service  of  the  grand 
women  of  the  war  be  forgotten.  Let  not  the  graves  of  those  who 
have  passed  beyond  be  neglected  at  our  annual  strewing  of 
flowers. 

PENSIONS. 

In  every  community  we  have  "Pension  Growlers,"  soldier 
haters,  and  men  who  begrudge  the  little  pension  that  is  doled 
out  by  our  government.  For  many  years  after  the  war,  I  was 
of  the  opinion  that  none  but  those  disabled  by  reason  of  wounds 
received  in  action,  should  receive  pensions.  But,  men's  minds 
change,  and  I  believe  now,  that  there  never  was  a  man  who 
served  in  the  Union  Army,  and  who  can  show  an  honorable  dis 
charge,  that  ever  received  one-half  what  he  deserved,  measuring 
by  dollars  and  cents.  I  believe  that  the  government  owes  us  a 
debt  of  gratitude,  but  now  that  debt  should  be  generously  paid 
in  gold  dollars,  weighed  to  us  on  avoirdupois  scales,  and  not  by 
the  grains  and  drachms  of  the  apothecary's  weights.  I  further 
believe  that  when  a  claim  has  been  proven,  and  all  the  proof  ac 
cepted  and  it  goes  to  what  is  called  the  "completed  files"  that 
this  becomes  a  valid  claim  and  should  be  recognized  and  paid 
immediately.  I  do  not  think  it  lies  within  the  province  of  every 
new  administration  to  change  the  validity  of  any  claim.  I  amr 
further,  of  the  opinion  that  when  a  claim  becomes  adjudicated,  it 
becomes  a  vested  right.  This  will  relieve  the  mental  and  physical 
strain  to  a  great  extent,  of  the  survivors  of  the  Union  Army. 
Oh,  mighty  Government!  Oh,  Mighty  people!  Oh,  aristocrats 
of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives !  Be  liberal.  Be 
just.  Be  magnanimous  to  the  survivors  of  the  great  Rebellion. 
We  will  not  tarry  with  you  much  longer.  The  halls  of  Congress 
will  not  hear  the  agitation  of  special  claims  or  our  appeals  for 
justice  through  many  more  years. 

93 


As  a  closing  remark  on  pensions,  I  desire  to  say  that  there  is 
no  crop  that  is  so  eagerly  sought  after  by  the  business  men  of  this 
country  as  the  "pension  crop."  The  corn  and  wheat  crop  may 
be  short,  but  the  "pension  crop"  is  regularly  harvested  every 
ninety  days,  and  the  business  men  of  the  State  know  the  value  of 
it,  and  know  further,  that  these  disbursements  have  often  saved 
us  from  panicky  times  and  severe  business  depression.  The  pay 
ment  of  $2,437,982.76  at  the  Indianapolis  agency  quarterly,  has 
kept  the  wolf  from  many  an  old  comrade's  door. 


PATRIOTISM. 

Teach  patriotism  in  the  schools.  Teach  the  children  the 
history  of  the  Rebellion.  Hoist  "Old  Glory"  to  the  bel 
fry  of  every  school  house  of  the  land.  Educate  your  children 
to  sing  the  patriotic  airs  of  our  Country.  Recently  a  very  dis 
tinguished  music  teacher  in  the  Public  Schools  of  a  western  city 
entered  one  of  the  rooms  of  the  building,  and  after  some  pre 
liminaries,  thus  addressed  the  pupils : 

"Now,  children,  let  us  have  that  noble,  patriotic  song,  known 
to  all  Americans,  from  Maine  to  California,  from  the  lakes  to  the 
gulf ;  that  song  which  is  sung  as  a  hymn  in  the  churches,  by  the 
soldiers  on  the  plains,  by  our  countrymen  everywhere ;  the  song 
which  thrills  us  all  and  fills  our  hearts  with  love  of  Country." 
The  word  "America"  almost  breathed  itself  upon  the  air,  as  a 
small  boy  on  the  back  row,  arose  and  gesticulated  violently.  "I 
Icnow  what  that  song  is,  sir."  "Well,  my  son,  let  us  have  it." 
"  'After  the  Ball.' '  Comrades  this  may  be  laughable,  but  it  is 
a  reproach  on  our  patriotism. 

The  first  object  of  our  organization  is,  "All  things  being  equal, 
to  give  preference  to  its  members  in  all  business  relations."  The 
second  is,  "The  moral,  intellectual  and  social  improvement  of  its 
members."  These  are  the  two  main  planks  in  the  general  plat 
form  on  which  our  organization  stands. 

But,  socially,  this  organization  is  just  what  each  encampment 
makes  it.  At  all  these  gatherings,  are  found  good  companion- 
•ship,  refreshing  of  old  memories,  reviving  ties  of  friendship, 
together  with  a  limited  amount  of  "spiritual  comforts." 

94 


"Sometimes  water,  sometimes  milk, 

Sometimes  Apple  Jack,  fine  as  silk, 

But  whatever  the  tipple  has  been 

We  shared  it  together  in  fame  or  bliss : 

And  I  warm  to  you,  friends, 

When  I  think  of  this— 

We  have  drank  from  the  some  canteen/' 

In  our  organization  we  have  many  good  poets.  Our  Chaplain- 
in-chief  is  no  exception.  He  is  a  grand  old  soldier.  He  has 
served  his  time  faithfully  in  the  Union  Cause,  and  now  is  labor 
ing  in  the  army  of  the  Lord.  I  will  read  a  poem  by  him,  which  I 
pronounce  as  being  grand  in  conception  and  beautiful  in  thought. 

*     *     *     *     * 

Eight  years  of  toil  have  passed  away 
Since  from  the  night  I  saw  the  day 
An  institution  tinged  with  grey, 
The  Union  Veteran  Legion. 

We  represent  the  tried  and  true, 
Who  waged  the  deadly  conflict  through ; 
While  wearing  we  loved  and  honored  the  blue. 
The  Union  Veteran  Legion. 

Thanks  to  the  men  who  conceived  the  thought 
That  into  an  organization  brought 
Men  who  can  neither  be  scared  nor  bought, 
The  Union  Veteran  Legion. 

Then,  Comrades,  proceed  as  you  have  begun 
Mark  well  the  right  in  the  race  you  run, 
And  the  Master  will  say  at  last,  "Well  done," 
Union  Veteran  Legion. 


95 


THE  STORY   OF  THE  MUSTER  ROLL. 

Written  at  the  time  of  the  Dedication  of  the  Indiana  Soldiers' 
and  Sailors'  Monument,  May  15,  4ta;  for  The 
Indianapolis  News,    c  ^  6  *V" 


Very  few  persons  before  the  war  of  the  rebellion,  knew  what 
a  muster  roll  was,  and  cared  less. 

The  peculiarities  of  the  muster  roll  are  worthy  of  particular 
mention.  Every  survivor  of  the  war  is  now  more  or  less  fa 
miliar  with  its  true  meaning.  To  those  who  may  read  this  ar 
ticle,  and  do  not  know  the  full  meaning,  we  desire  to  say  that 
it  is  a  full  description  of  each  and  every  person  who  enlists  in 
the  service  of  the  United  States,  either  Army  or  Navy;  gives 
name,  age,  height,  color  of  eyes,  color  of  hair,  occupation,  single 
or  married,  white  or  black. 

The  historian  finds  the  muster  rolls  of  valuable  information. 
He  finds  the  names  of  regiments  that  were  in  battle,  the  move 
ments  of  brigades  and  divisions  and  corps.  He  finds  what  regi 
ments  did  the  fighting,  which  were  in  the  reserve,  which  were  in 
the  first  lines  of  battle,  which  led  the  assault,  and  which  stood  in 
the  breach.  The  long  columns  of  names  marked  as  killed  tell  how 
well  they  stood  in  action. 

To  the  young  and  inexperienced  officer,  the  first  muster  roll 
was  embarrassing  and  very  annoying  to  him  in  its  completion  and 
perfectness.  I  recall  to  my  mind  the  making  of  the  first  one; 
the  corrections  and  erasures  before  it  was  accepted  by  the  proper 
officers.  How  true  the  old  maxim,  "Experience  is  a  dear  school, 
etc.,"  and  how  well  was  this  demonstrated  to  us  in  the  perform 
ance  of  our  duty.  The  individual  statements  made  opposite  each 
name  under  the  head  of  "Remarks"  were  at  the  time  considered 
of  small  importance,  but  today,  we  find  that  these  very  state 
ments  have  become  historical  and  recognized  as  valid  authority 

96 


for  the  adjustment  of  claims  for  pensions.  Much  annoyance, 
considerable  pain  and  anxiety  have  followed  when  the  record 
has  been  examined  and  a  comrade  is  confronted  with  some  un 
pleasant  reminder  of  his  past  service;  then  comes  disappoint 
ment  and  in  frequent  cases,  nervous  prostration.  Many  instances 
have  been  found  in  which  the  statements  were  unjust;  many  that 
were  just,  and  the  penalty  severe. 

Take,  for  instance,  some  personal  feeling  toward  a  comrade. 
The  officer  places  remarks  opposite  his  name  that  forever  darkens 
his  future.  "Absent  without  leave,"  without  knowing  positively 
the  whereabouts  of  said  soldier;  possibly  a  prisoner;  possibly 
in  some  hospital;  possibly  wounded  and  left  behind,  and  see 
what  injustice  was  done;  possibly  marked,  "Deserted." 

Many  peculiarities  of  making  a  muster  roll  can  be  enumer 
ated.  Very  many  amusing  as  well  as  serious  remarks  are  re 
membered.  For  instance,  under  the  head  of  "Remarks"  opposite 
a  soldier's  name,  "Kicked  by  a  mule,"  "Choked  to  death,"  "De 
tached,"  "Discharged  on  expiration  of  term  of  service," 
"Wounded  and  taken  prisoner,"  "Shot  for  desertion,"  "Killed 
on  picket,"  "Drafted  for  nine  months,"  "Killed  in  action,"  "Died 
of  sunstroke,"  "Murdered  by  a  comrade,"  and  so  on.  "Killed  on 
July  3,  1863,  at  Gettysburg" — one  thinks  of  Pickett's  charge,  or 
other  incidents  of  that  historic  field.  The  vision  of  Little  Round 
Top;  the  wheat  field;  the  Devil's  Den;  the  assault  on  Cemetery 
hill. 

"Killed,  December  13,  1862,  at  Mayre's  heights,"  (Fredericks- 
burg) — We  think  of  the  fierce  charge  through  the  town  of  Fred- 
ericksburg.  The  charge  of  the  rebels  in  their  entrenchments. 
The  terrible  slaughter  of  Meagher's  New  York  Irish  Brigade. 
We  have  recently  passed  over  this  historic  battlefield  and  viewed 
the  surroundings  with  a  critical  eye. 

"Killed  at  Chancellorsville,  May  2,  1863" — Here  rises  a  picture 
of  the  battles  of  the  Union.  The  famous  order  of  General 
Hooker:  "We  have  found  the  enemy  and  they  are  ours."  The 
march ;  the  rain ;  the  river ;  the  pontoons ;  the  Chancellor's  house ; 
the  forest;  the  artillery  battle  that  made  the  earth  tremble  for 
three  days  and  nights ;  the  movement  of  "Stonewall"  Jackson  to 
the  right  of  our  line;  the  assault  and  surprise  and  the  stampede 
of  the  eleventh  corps,  are  all  painful  reminders  of  this  contest. 

"Died  September  15,  1862,  while  enroute  from  Fortress  Mon 
roe  to  Washington,  D.  C.  an  exchanged  prisoner  of  war  taken 

97 


at  Port  Republic,  Va.,  June  9,  1862" — Here,  my  friends,  is  some 
thing  to  think  of.  Wounded,  not  alone  disabled,  bleeding  and 
sore,  an  exchanged  prisoner,  returning  from  that  damnable  black 
spot  on  earth,  Andersonville  prison.  The  tortures  of  this  hellish 
bastile  endured  for  months,  and  there  on  the  very  threshold  of 
his  home.  The  thoughts  of  home,  the  pleasures  to  come;  dies 
enroute,  after  being  exchanged.  Great  God!  And  still,  some 
begrudge  the  widows  and  orphans  the  small  pittance  passed  out 
over  the  counter  of  the  pension  office. 

"Wounded  at  the  assault  on  Lookout  Mountain,  November  24, 
1863,  afterward  died" — look  at  that  frowning  perpendicular 
wall  of  limestone.  Think  of  Hooker's  advance  from  Bridgeport 
to  Wauhatchie  through  the  Lookout  Valley,  and  the  movement 
open  to  observation  of  the  enemy.  Thoughts  of  winding  around 
the  palisades  on  the  mountain  side  of  this  wall  of  limestone,  under 
the  very  muzzles  of  the  rebel  guns.  Climbing  over  boulders  and 
ledges,  up  hill  and  down  hill,  driving  the  enemy  from  their 
strongholds  in  desperation  and  agony.  Look  back  thirty-nine 
years,  and  see  the  smoke  of  Hooker's  storming  party;  hear  the 
roar  of  artillery  and  the  cracking  of  musketry.  The  very  foun 
dation  of  that  solid  rock  quaked  under  this  influence. 

See  the  treacherous  waters  of  the  Tennessee,  where  many  a 
poor  comrade  found  a  watery  grave.  See  the  artillery  contest 
at  Moccasin  Point.  Witness  the  anihilation  of  wagon  trains, 
laden  with  provisions,  enroute  to  feed  the  hungry  soldiers  and 
starving  mules.  This  was  the  opening  of  the  "cracker  line." 

"Killed  at  Appomattox,  April  9,  1865" — and  one  sees  a  dead 
cavalryman,  who,  falling  in  that  closing  battle  of  the  war,  died 
with  home  and  victory  in  sight. 

These  are  some  remarks  that  will  confront  any  who  looks  up 
the  records  of  his  regiment.  And  so  it  goes  on.  There  are  no 
war  stories  that  can  equal  the  stories  of  the  muster  roll.  They 
are  facts.  There  are  interesting,  and  sad  records  as  well.  Eigh 
teen  States  have  printed  muster  rolls  of  their  regiments,  which 
they  furnished  to  the  Union  Army.  The  name  of  every  man 
who  served  from  these  States  is  preserved.  Their  records  are 
herein  transmitted,  and  the  generations  to  come  will  find  a  proud 
heritage. 

There  are  three  States,  New  York,  Delaware  and  Maryland, 
which  have  never  published  their  muster-out  rolls. 

As  a  matter  of  record,  the  average  age  of  all  of  the  soldiers 

98 


was  twenty-five  years.  When  classified  by  age,  the  largest  is 
that  of  eighteen  years.  Of  1,012,273  recorded  ages,  there  are 
133,475  at  eighteen  years,  90,215  at  nineteen  years,  and  so  on; 
46,626  at  twenty-five  years,  and  16,070  at  forty-four  years. 

Out  of  2,000,000  men,  1,500,000  were  Americans.  Of  500,000 
foreigners,  175,000  were  Germans,  150,000  were  Irish,  50,000 
English,  50,000  British- American,  75,000  other  countries. 

The  tallest  man  was  Captain  Van  Buskirk  of  the  Twenty- 
seventh  Indiana  Volunteers  who  measured  82^  inches,  or  6  feet, 
ioy2  inches  in  his  bare  feet.  The  shortest  man  was  a  member 
of  the  One-hundred-and^ninety-second  Ohio  Volunteers,  who 
measured  40  inches,  or  3  feet  4  inches. 

In  long,  tiresome  marches,  the  tall  men  generally  gave  out 
first.  The  small  men  generally  were  "all  there"  at  night  when  the 
roll  was  called. 

The  average  weight  was  143^2  pounds.  The  color  of  the  hair 
was  as  follows:  Thirteen  per  cent  black;  twenty-five  per  cent 
dark;  thirty  per  cent  brown;  twenty- four  per  cent  light;  four 
per  cent  sandy ;  three  per  cent  red,  and  I  per  cent  was  gray,  so 
that  you  can  readily  see  that  out  of  100  per  cent,  one  per  cent  was 
gray,  and  ninety-nine  per  cent  were  other  shades,  indicating  that 
the  great  Union  Army  was  made  up  of  the  youth  and  flower  of 
our  land.  Of  the  occupations,  forty-eight  per  cent  were  farmers ; 
twenty- four  per  cent  mechanics;  sixteen  per  cent  laborers;  five 
per  cent  clerks  and  bookkeepers,  three  per  cent  professional  men ; 
four  per  cent  miscellaneous. 

Penmanship  was  requisite  in  the  army  and  the  best  penmen 
were  always  sought  after  and  used  in  making  up  muster  rolls  of 
their  companies.  They  were  also  detailed  for  clerical  work  at 
Headquarters  of  regiments,  brigades,  divisions  and  corps.  Offi 
cers  were  not  long  in  finding  out  who  were  the  best  penmen. 
When  a  soldier  was  once  detailed  for  his  qualifications,  it  was 
a  rare  thing  for  him  to  ever  return  to  his  company,  unless  for 
reason  of  a  dissolution  or  separation  of  the  command. 

Now,  let  loose  the  recollections  of  the  past,  and  recall  the 
"Grand  Review,"  the  remnants  of  that  noble  Army  passing  for 
the  last  time  down  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  Washington,  D.  C., 
before  a  host  of  200,000  people  filling  the  streets  and  house-tops. 
There  were  men  who  were  with  Grant  at  the  start  and  Grant  at 
the  finish.  There  were  men  with  Rosecrans  at  Stone  River. 

99 


Hooker  at  Lookout  Mountain,  Thomas  at  Chickamauga,  Sher 
man  at  Atlanta  and  the  Sea. 

If  the  generation  of  today  could  have  seen  the  survivors  of  the 
old  Union  Army,  37  years  ago,  making  their  last  march,  in  re 
view  before  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  the  General 
of  the  Army,  that  bright  May  day,  in  1865,  they  would  have  seen 
the  greatest  body  of  marching  men  the  world  ever  looked  upon. 
In  the  light  of  history  and  the  glory  of  achievements,  everything 
else  sank  into  insignificance,  because  it  was  the  passing  of  the 
remnant  of  the  Union  Army. 

I  have  carried  you  over  some  of  the  important  events  of  my 
soldier  life  and  personal  experiences.  The  boys  of  the  Grand 
Army  have  that  same  feeling  today  toward  one  another  that  they 
had  from  1861  to  1865,  when  they  were  holding  the  same  flag, 
swinging  sabres,  marching  and  tramping  by  thousands  and  thous 
ands  in  column  or  battery  front,  shoulder  to  shoulder,  solid  col 
umns  with  bristling  bayonets.  Squadrons  and  regiments  of 
cavalry,  side  by  side  in  one  great  cause,  consecrated  through 
blood,  fire  and  storm. 

AND  THIS  IS  THE  REASON  THE  GRAND  ARMY  IS 
SO  LOYAL  TO  THE  PRINCIPLES  DEFINED  BY  "OLD- 
GLORY." 


100 


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